All products are bar-coded in the present market. Even the smallest retail items like chocolates or pencils have a unique bar code to identify them accurately. Bar codes have specific symbology that is defined in the height and width of the bars, as well as the spacing between the bars. Each of these bars might represent numeric data, alphanumeric data or character data, depending on the type of symbology being used by the user. Each bar code has a start bar and an end bar to allow the scanner to read the data precisely. Some bar codes have another bar before the end bar, known as the checksum bar. After the scanner calculates the sum, the same is verified with the value of the checksum bar code for accuracy. This ensures exact calculation with minimal errors.

Bar code software is used to design and print bar codes on labels. The user needs to specify the design, and the software takes care of the whole printing process at a much faster rate. These software suites are accurate and print the labels with minimal wastage in the process.

With all the facilities and extra utilities provided by the bar code software suites, they are expensive. Not everyone can afford to buy this software. Small-scale manufacturers and retailers would have a tough time investing in the bar code printing software if their budget is limited.

Available online are free bar code software programs that can either be downloaded or used online to design a bar code. This design can later be saved onto the computer and printed as required. The user needs to log in to the website and provide basic details relating to the bar code, such as the bar code symbology, height of the bar code, resolution, density of the bar code, and output format. Most of the websites are user-friendly, and the application for the bar code is extremely simple to understand.

Some websites allow the customer to provide details in depth, such as if they would like the checksum facility. This is for customers who have in-depth knowledge of they need. Otherwise the customers can just ask the website to generate a bar code that can be saved onto their computer and used at a later stage. Since the websites are free, customers can log in at any time and request a bar code generation. The whole process would take not more than five minutes, and is very simple and easy to understand and use.