Editorial Policy

Plain Barcode exists to give accurate, practical answers. This page explains how that is done and what you can expect when something is wrong.

Who writes and edits

All guides are written and edited by Toma Tomov, who runs the site. There are no guest posts and no paid contributors.

How topics are chosen

Each guide answers one concrete question a small business or seller runs into when making, printing or scanning barcodes. We don't publish several pages that say the same thing under different keywords. If two questions share an answer, they share a guide.

How guides are researched

Primary sources first: GS1 standards such as the General Specifications and the GTIN Management Standard, GS1 US guidance, ISO standard pages, DENSO WAVE for QR codes, and official documentation from scanner, printer and software makers.
Every guide lists its sources at the end. Important claims link to the source where they are made.
Prices, fees and company policies change often. When a guide mentions one, it links to the official page and you should check the current figure there.
Guides don't claim hands-on testing, lab results, credentials or experiences that did not happen. Worked examples use numbers reserved for examples, or are clearly labeled as illustrations.

Use of AI tools

Drafts may be prepared with the help of AI writing tools. A tool never decides what is published. Toma checks every factual statement in a guide against its cited sources, recomputes worked examples such as check digits, and edits the text before publication. Sources are never generated: each one listed was opened and read.

Dates and updates

Each guide shows the date it was first published and the date it was last updated. The updated date changes only when the content changes in substance, not for cosmetic edits.

Corrections

If you find an error, email [email protected] with the page address and, if possible, a source. We check every report. When a factual error is confirmed, we fix it and add a dated “Correction” note at the top of the guide that says what changed. Spelling and formatting fixes are made without a note.

Tools

The tools are checked against the worked examples published in the relevant standards, such as GS1 check digit examples. If a tool produces something wrong, it is fixed first and explained second. Please report problems through the contact page.

Advertising is separate from content

Ads are served by Google AdSense. Each ad position is labeled “Advertisements”, sits in its own bordered box, and is never placed inside a tool, a table or the middle of a sentence.
Advertisers have no say in what we write, and we don't know in advance which ads Google will show. An ad on a page is not a recommendation.
Guides never ask readers to click ads.

Independence

Plain Barcode is not affiliated with GS1, any retailer or marketplace, or any maker of scanners, printers, labels or software, and receives nothing from them. Products are described by category, not endorsed by brand.