Reduced Space Symbology

                 Have you ever noticed while checking out of the grocery store that your organic bananas look similar to your regular ones, and your organic apples look the same as your regular apples? With so many different types of food we are offered these days, how is that cashier at the checkout supposed to know which fruits are what? I mean after all, UPC codes are too big and obnoxious for fruits and vegetables, so besides a small sticker that may or may not say the name of the fruit, or might not even survive shipping, what can be done to make this easier?
           

             Theres  a new barcode label protocol created from the Uniform Code Council (UCC), a non-profit organization, has the potential to make checkout of such items as easy as, well, apple pie. The technology, called Reduced Space Symbology (RSS), can put the same or even more data in some cases, much more into a barcode that’s as little as 30% the size of a standard Universal Product Code (UPC). This means that places and foods and products that were previously thought to be too small to have a UPC label can now have an RSS label, and have even more information than a UPC. RSS has wide-ranging applicability for products that demand small barcodes, in culinary, pharmecuticals and most smaller foods or items that normally could not have a UPC code.
           

           The RSS codes are also beneficial because they can contain upto 14 characters, while the normal UPC codes can only contain up to 12. This means that the RSS codes can also contain a lot more information in the bar code when compared to the UPC, and with its larger capacity and smaller size, it is ideal for any situation. 
          

         These RSS codes are being tested around the country, but so far the results are promising. The RSS codes have been easily integrated into the common store, with few or no problems reading, or storing information. The small size allows you to put a RSS code on practically anything! This could save time and money for employers and employees who currently are using UPC codes, if they switch them to RSS.