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Reading Barcodes from an Image - III

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19 Oct 2009CPOL4 min read 1.2M   95.3K   414   158
Detects Code39, EAN, and Code128 barcodes in an image.

Screenshot

Acknowledgement

This project is based on the CodeProject article: Reading Barcodes from an Image - II by qlipoth. I asked and got permission from qlipoth to publish an enhanced version of his code.

Introduction

My company has a need for reading barcodes from images that also contain text on the same page as the barcode(s). When searching for a solution in C#, I found qlipoth's CodeProject article: Reading Barcodes from an Image - II. His code came a long way towards what I wanted, but I needed a few improvements. In the end, my changes amounted to a significant rewrite that justifies a new CodeProject publication.

Background

This code has several improvements compared to the original code written in 2005:

  1. Validation is added for Code39 barcodes. The code has much less chance of detecting a "barcode" that is not actually present.
  2. Detection speed is improved. The main problem in the original project was that it used Bitmap.RotateFlip, and that function is quite slow.
  3. Added EAN/UPC and Code128 barcode support. The original project could only detect Code39 barcodes.
  4. Fixed some bugs that were reported for qlipoth's project and for the related project Reading Barcodes from an Image published by Benjamin Liedblad in 2004.

Using the code

To open the solution, you'll need Visual Studio 2008. However, I have not used any constructs that are not .NET 1.1 compatible, so the actual code should also be compilable in Visual Studio 2003 or 2005.

To use the code, call FullScanPage or ScanPage with the Windows Bitmap object containing your image. The included TestApp (written in VB.NET) demonstrates the basic use:

VB
Dim barcodes As New System.Collections.ArrayList
BarcodeImaging.FullScanPage(barcodes, Me.PictureBox1.Image, 100)
If barcodes.Count > 0 Then
  ' Found one or more barcodes ...

The numscans parameter in both functions indicates how many bands of pixels should be scanned across or down the image. With a higher number, the code finds more barcodes, but of course, will also run slightly slower. Usually 50 - 100 scans will be OK to find all barcodes on a full page image.

Difference between FullScanPage and ScanPage

FullScanPage always scans horizontally and vertically, and attempts to detect all supported barcode types. If you know that your input material is always scanned in the same orientation, or if you do not need detection of all barcode types, you can make your program run faster by using ScanPage.

C#
public static void ScanPage(ref System.Collections.ArrayList CodesRead, 
       Bitmap bmp, int numscans, ScanDirection direction, BarcodeType types)

With the additional parameters direction and types, you can fine-tune barcode detection:

  • direction: can be ScanDirection.Vertical or ScanDirection.Horizontal. Use Vertical for detecting barcodes with vertical bars, or Horizontal if you expect barcodes that are rotated 90 degrees.
  • types: Pass BarcodeType.All to detect all supported barcode types, or you can specify one or more specific barcode types, like this:
    C#
    ScanPage(ref CodesRead, bmp, numscans, ScanDirection.Vertical,
             BarcodeType.Code39 | BarcodeType.Code128);

    Supported types are Code39, EAN, and Code128. The EAN reader will also detect UPC codes.

Points of interest

  • The EAN reader also reads the 2 or 5 digits supplemental barcodes often found on books and periodicals. As shown in the screenshot, a supplemental barcode will be returned as a separate barcode string starting with "S".
  • The Code128 reader has mixed code page support. The serial number in the sample image Code128test-CodeC.png starts as Code C, but the last digit is added as Code B.
  • The code uses a more advanced approach for measuring the "narrow bar width" than qlipoth's and Liedblad's versions. This should allow for better detection rates when reading EAN and Code128. In Code39, we only need to distinguish between narrow and wide bars, but the other barcode types use four different bar widths.
  • I have added the concept of "barcode zones", to allow detection of differently scaled barcodes on the same scan line. In Code128test-CodeC.png, this enables the software to read both the serial number and the UPC code that are printed side-by-side.

    barcode zones

References

I used the following references while writing this project:

  1. For implementing EAN detection: Wikipedia articles on the European Article Number, EAN-2, and EAN-5.
  2. For implementing Code 128: the character table and checksum calculation as published on code128barcodes.com, and the barcode generator published by IDAutomation.com Inc., for testing.

History

  • October 5, 2009: Original.
  • October 19, 2009: Improved Code39 detection, bugfixes. Added VB.NET translation of the barcode detection class and the COM interface provided by Alessandro Gubbiotti.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior) Decos Software Engineering BV
Netherlands Netherlands
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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralRe: why u get pixel brightness by addding the values of R 、G 、B component Pin
Berend Engelbrecht3-Feb-10 20:45
Berend Engelbrecht3-Feb-10 20:45 
GeneralRe: why u get pixel brightness by addding the values of R 、G 、B component Pin
lulu8311103-Feb-10 21:30
lulu8311103-Feb-10 21:30 
QuestionIs this programe has some restriction on the images to read Pin
lulu8311102-Feb-10 16:52
lulu8311102-Feb-10 16:52 
AnswerRe: Is this programe has some restriction on the images to read Pin
Berend Engelbrecht2-Feb-10 18:50
Berend Engelbrecht2-Feb-10 18:50 
GeneralRe: Is this programe has some restriction on the images to read Pin
lulu8311102-Feb-10 22:14
lulu8311102-Feb-10 22:14 
GeneralImage Processing Pin
geali_dor26-Jan-10 22:00
geali_dor26-Jan-10 22:00 
GeneralRe: Image Processing Pin
Berend Engelbrecht26-Jan-10 23:05
Berend Engelbrecht26-Jan-10 23:05 
GeneralRe: Image Processing Pin
geali_dor27-Jan-10 2:54
geali_dor27-Jan-10 2:54 
I just tried this algorithm and the pattern i posted in the first thread works fine.
what do you mean with "they are not correct in your sample"?

br, Gerald!

hack the planet

GeneralRe: Image Processing Pin
Berend Engelbrecht27-Jan-10 8:39
Berend Engelbrecht27-Jan-10 8:39 
GeneralRe: Image Processing Pin
geali_dor28-Jan-10 19:48
geali_dor28-Jan-10 19:48 
GeneralRe: Image Processing Pin
stixoffire31-Aug-11 22:31
stixoffire31-Aug-11 22:31 
GeneralBarcode 39 Extension Pin
naorem24-Jan-10 19:38
naorem24-Jan-10 19:38 
GeneralRe: Barcode 39 Extension Pin
Berend Engelbrecht24-Jan-10 22:12
Berend Engelbrecht24-Jan-10 22:12 
Generalruning in Windows Mobile successful but the running speed is quite slow unlike its performance in windows Pin
lulu83111018-Jan-10 21:26
lulu83111018-Jan-10 21:26 
GeneralRe: runing in Windows Mobile successful but the running speed is quite slow unlike its performance in windows Pin
Berend Engelbrecht19-Jan-10 0:53
Berend Engelbrecht19-Jan-10 0:53 
GeneralMy sincere admiration for you and your work Pin
alphiee8-Jan-10 3:52
alphiee8-Jan-10 3:52 
GeneralExcellent work Pin
paragme22-Dec-09 21:57
paragme22-Dec-09 21:57 
QuestionShould this work for Code 39 extended barcodes? Pin
naorem21-Dec-09 1:18
naorem21-Dec-09 1:18 
AnswerRe: Should this work for Code 39 extended barcodes? Pin
Berend Engelbrecht21-Dec-09 1:36
Berend Engelbrecht21-Dec-09 1:36 
QuestionIs Possible runing in Windows Mobile ? Pin
Zorrani11-Dec-09 10:23
Zorrani11-Dec-09 10:23 
AnswerRe: Is Possible runing in Windows Mobile ? Pin
Berend Engelbrecht12-Dec-09 7:47
Berend Engelbrecht12-Dec-09 7:47 
GeneralRe: Is Possible runing in Windows Mobile ? Pin
Zorrani14-Dec-09 4:45
Zorrani14-Dec-09 4:45 
GeneralRe: Is Possible runing in Windows Mobile ? Pin
lulu83111018-Jan-10 21:24
lulu83111018-Jan-10 21:24 
GeneralRe: Is Possible runing in Windows Mobile ? Pin
chs200812-Oct-10 18:00
chs200812-Oct-10 18:00 
GeneralAmazing Job! Pin
Marcelo Ricardo de Oliveira11-Dec-09 9:02
mvaMarcelo Ricardo de Oliveira11-Dec-09 9:02 

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