---
title: Importance of High Recognition Rate
slug: importance-of-high-recognition-rate
docTags: 
createdAt: 2023-04-19T01:55:29.000Z
---

## What is a barcode, barcode processing, and barcode reader?

Barcodes are a **cost-saving tool** for document processing automation. When attached to a physical object or electronic document, a barcode conveys **machine-readable information** that can:

- Retrieve additional information about an object from a database (e.g., barcode retrieves data and displays information to an operator, like the price of a good in the supermarket)
- Direct how the document is processed (e.g., barcode obtains the account number on a document to enable proper filing)
- Deliver self-contained information (e.g., the driver's license barcode holds information about the owner)

A typical barcode-based document processing system follows two stages:

**Image generation steps**

1. **A barcode generator** takes **input data** and generates images of the barcode according to the selected type and geometrical parameters.
2. **A barcode printer** transfers this image to a physical object (e.g., a printed document).
3. **Document handling**, where documents can be damaged (crumpled, dirtied, scratched)
4. **A document scanner or a camera** acquires the image of a document
5. **Scanning software** pre-processes documents (e.g., convert to bitonal) and compresses images (e.g., to JPEG or PDF) and saves them in a file/database.

   In some workflows, steps 2 to 5 are replaced by software that generates an electronic document stored in a file/database.

**Barcode Recognition steps**

1. **A barcode reader** obtains saved images, detects the barcode on the images, and returns **output data** equivalent to the input data.
2. Computerized **processing of output data**, e.g., inserting information into a database.

So **a Barcode Reader **is software that extracts data from a barcode data from an image and delivers data into a computerized system.    

## Why does failure to read barcodes cost you money?

Production barcode recognition is typically a part of unattended back-end processing.  The automated nature of such a process is a cost-saving and business-optimizing mechanism.    Failure to reliably read barcodes is very costly since human action is involved in mitigating the results of failure.   Such human actions can be:

- Manual data entry from an image or physical document if barcode value is present as human-readable text.
- Identify and rescan pages with failed barcodes.
- Down-the-line workflow actions to deal with incorrectly processed documents.

## Why should you worry about the failure rate?

Oftentimes, barcode reader recognition rates are measured by the percentage of recognized barcodes (e.g., 98% recognition rate). Measuring the** failure rate, **however, is more indicative of performance as it is directly proportional to operating costs.

For example, compare the barcode recognition rates of Reader A at 99% and Reader B at 99.9%.  While the recognition rate difference is only 0.9%, the failure rate of Reader A is 1% as compared to Reader B's, which is 0.1%. The failure of Reader B is **ten times higher**.   

You should strive for a 100% recognition rate to minimize operating costs. While a document can be damaged beyond to recover a barcode, a good target is the five nines or **a 99.999% recognition rate**.

## How can I minimize the failure rate?

The failure rate is a function of the following:

- **Distortion of the barcode** on an image introduced by **image generation steps**.
- The **ability of the barcode reader** to **recover output data** in the presence of the above distortions.

Minimizing the failure rate requires one to:

1. **Minimize distortions **during image generation.   See these recommendations (TODO LINK).
2. **Select a barcode reader **capable of recovering valid data with the maximum amount of distortions.

In many real-life operations, one often has very limited control over image generation. Therefore, choosing the best barcode reader is the only reliable solution to reduce the failure rate.  

## How to ensure the lowest production failure rate?

Identification of the true failure rate **at the time of development** presents a few challenges:

- Barcodes are typically a small part of much larger application development. Developers expect a smooth integration of the barcode reader into applications rather than being the point of failure or delay.
- Expertise in barcode-based processes and recognition is not part of a typical developer's skillset.
- The image test set used during development and pre-production is limited and does not reflect the type of distortion encountered in high-volume production use.

In the production environment, batches of images may oftentimes appear with **distortions that were not present in the test run.**  This might be caused by the following:

- Changes in the process of generating and printing barcodes
- Changes in the scanners or scanner's configuration
- Receiving images from a new source, where one has no control over the image generation process

Selecting the wrong barcode reader leads to an **increased failure rate** or **failed batches of images.**

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