Bearer Bars

What are Bearer Bars?

Bearer bars are small, rectangular markings that surround a barcode. Normally, these bars appear on the top and bottom edges of a barcode, but sometimes they appear on all four sides. Regardless of where they appear, they must have the right quiet zones or they will lead to errors. Read on to learn more.

Bearer bars are also known as light margins, or spaces between the bearer bars and the bars. These are important for two main reasons: they make scanning easier and ensure that there are no errors in the information. When these are missing, the barcode might be misread, so having them is necessary. The width of the bearer bar must be at least 4.8 mm. Without them, the barcode might become impossible to read.