METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR APPLYING BAR CODE INFORMATION TO PRODUCTS DURING PRODUCTION

摘要

Bar code infomiation ( 310, 330 ) is printed on a printable surface ( 300 ) of a product ( 125 ), such as a label ( 300 ) or container of the product, or the product itself, during a production run. A first component ( 310 ) of a composite bar code symbol, which may identify a product carried in the containers, is either pre-printed or printed during a production run, and a second component ( 330 ), which may identify a lot, batch, expiration date or commodity number, is printed during the production run. Check data may be used to confirm the accuracy of information that is used by a printer computer ( 120 ). A database ( 188 ) may be accessed to determine if recovered information from first and second bar code symbols portions ( 610, 620 ) is consistent. A standalone printer ( 146 ) may supply labels ( 147 ) to one or more production lines ( 100 ) on an as-needed basis.