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Much has been said about the potential of big data and artificial intelligence (AI), and there’s still a hope that some AI technologies will eventually become plug-and-play solutions. At the moment, however, false positives and false negatives remain prevalent, and it’s likely that these may never completely stop occurring. That said, AI is still a useful technology with the right business case, and it’s likely to play a major role in the factory of the future.

On any production line, it’s imperative to keep things moving. No-reads caused by faulty barcodes or unreliable readers can significantly hamper production by wasting both time and materials. Fortunately, there are several possible solutions for barcode reading problems, depending on what’s causing the issue. In some cases, a readable barcode may receive a no-read result simply because of its position relative to the reader.

Variations in the printing or marking method of barcodes and direct part marks (DPMs) – including poor ink distribution, incorrect thermal printer heat settings, or uneven pressure in surface abrasion – can hamper readability. Since no-reads can make production inefficient, it’s important to understand the types of print/mark inconsistencies and their causes. Here, each category of inconsistency will be defined and then some possible solutions discussed.