Overview
Managing the scanning of retail products that implement one or more labels meeting the GS1 Digital Link standard requires the configuration of multiple parameters.
This article shows the list of parameters involved and explains their meaning.
The first step in working with GS1 Digital Link 2D barcode is enabling its recognition within supported symbologies (particularly QR Code and Datamatrix).
Once their recognition is enabled, a series of parameters belonging to the Standard Formatter will allow their content to be manipulated to fit all the needs of the client application.
Symbology-Specific parameters:
QR Code and Data Matrix Recognition
The first step in working with GS1 Digital Link 2D barcode is enabling its recognition within supported symbologies. Two new parameters have been added:
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Symbologies / QR Code / GS1-DL-QR Code
- GS1-DL-QR Code enables recognition of GS1 Digital Link in QR Code format
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Symbologies / Data Matrix / GS1-DL-Data Matrix
- GS1-DL-Data Matrix enables recognition of GS1 Digital Link in Data Matrix format
These settings enable the scanner to recognize GS1 Digital Link barcodes as distinct barcode types from standard QR Codes or Data Matrix symbologies. Once identified, GS1 Digital Link codes can be converted to traditional barcode formats, ensuring compatibility with legacy applications.
UPC/EAN conversion to GTIN
UPC/EAN families support conversions between symbologies for standardized product identification.
This flexibility helps integrate systems expecting different formats while maintaining legacy barcode support. These are the conversions available in symbology settings:
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Symbologies / <UPC or EAN family> / Convert to…
- UPC-E: Convert to UPC-A
- UPC-A: Convert to EAN-13
- EAN-8: Convert to EAN-13
- EAN-13: Convert to GTIN
Since these conversions can work in cascade, it is possible to convert any UPC or EAN label (7-8-12-13-digit codes) up to 14-digit GTINs. For example, a UPC-E can convert through UPC-A and EAN-13 to GTIN if all conversions are enabled.
Standard Formatting Settings:
GS1 2D Conversion to GTIN
This feature addresses backward compatibility needs and enables integration between new GS1 Digital Link implementations and legacy systems.
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / GS1 2D Conversion
- Disabled: No conversion (default)
- GS1-128: Convert the barcode to GS1-128 format, preserving all GS1 application identifiers.
- GTIN: Extract and convert only the GTIN portion.
- UPCA/EAN13 Compatibility: Convert to the shortest option between GTIN, EAN13, and UPCA
- Shortest UPC/EAN Compatibility: Convert to the shortest option between GTIN, EAN13, UPCA, EAN8, and UPCE
This option allows legacy applications to continue working reading GS1 Digital Link without modification on back end.
GTIN Format
This parameter allows to select the GTIN format in two scenarios:
-
when UPC/EAN codes are promoted to GTINs (if enabled in the respective symbology settings)
-
when a GS1 Digital Link label is reduced to its GTIN (if GS1 2D Conversion is enable and set to GTIN).
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / GTIN Format
- GS1 DataBar 14: converts output to GS1 DataBar 14 format
- GS1-128: converts output to GS1-128 format
This option allows new applications using GTIN format to handle traditional barcodes.
For more information and real Use Case examples see also the post How to: Configure GS1 2D Conversion and GTIN Format for reading GS1 Digital Link in legacy application.
GS1 Label Set Transmit Mode
If enabled, this parameter allows multiple barcodes with the same GTIN to be collected while the button is held down and processed as a single operation.
A single audible or visual signal is emitted, the barcodes are automatically grouped by GTIN and then processed according to the selected mode:
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / GS1 Label Set Transmit Mode):
- Disabled: Process each barcode independently
- First Label (Mode 1): Once the first GTIN is identified in a linear or 2D barcode, device promptly transmits the GTIN according to the defined formatting rules.
- Prioritize 2D Label (Mode 2): Prioritize GS1 Digital Link compliant retail 2D barcodes when available, falling back to 1D barcodes if necessary.
- All Labels (Mode 3): Decode and transmit all GS1 Digital Link compliant barcodes, linear and 2D.
This mode send all labels with the same GTIN, adding a equal 8-digit incremental numeric identifier beforehand the codes belonging from the same set, so that multiple barcodes representing the same product can be correlated, even when they contain different supplementary data beyond the GTIN.
Used in coordination with ‘EAN-13/Convert to GTIN’, ‘GS1 2D Conversion’, and ‘GTIN Format’ parameters, GS1 Label Set Transmit Mode parameter allows to correctly implement the standardized scanning modes defined by GS1 Digital Link as Mode 1, Mode 2 and Mode 3 (see 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale. Implementation Guideline).
This page shows the specific Datalogic devices Configurations to implement Modes 1, 2 and 3 of the GS1 Digital Link.
GS1 Label Set Prefix
When using “All Labels (Mode 3)” mode, the scanner automatically adds 8-digit set identifies identifier co to correlate multiple barcodes representing the same product. This parameter allows to customize the incremental identifier with a custom prefix
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / GS1 Label Set Prefix
- The default value is “$n”, but can be changed to any string or completely removed.
Enhanced Format Checking
The existing “Check GS1 Format” parameter has been extended to perform comprehensive validation of GS1 Digital Link syntax.
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / Check GS1 Format
When enabled, it ensures that scanned GS1 Digital Link barcodes comply with the official URI syntax specification.
ECI Policy Requirement
The Extended Channel Interpretation (ECI) protocol allows 2D barcodes to encode data using different character sets and enables the application software to receive additional information about the intended interpretation of the contained message and even details about the scan itself. The transmission of this information along with the code to the application is controlled by the parameter:
Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Formatting / Standard Formatting / ECI Policy
Remark: for proper GS1 Digital Link functionality, the “ECI Policy” parameter must be set to “Remove”
This setting ensures that any ECI protocol characters are stripped from the barcode data before GS1 Digital Link processing.
Scanner Option Settings:
When GS1 Label Set Transmit Mode is set to First Label (Mode 1), Prioritize 2D Label (Mode 2) or All Labels (Mode 3), the ScanEngine does not shut down immediately after the first code is read, but remains active until the user releases the trigger or the Decode Timeout expires (Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Scanner options / Decode Timeout, default 5 sec). In this mode and during this time, the ScanEngine can decode labels continuously. To prevent the same product label from being inadvertently read multiple times, an appropriate timeout can be set within which new codes can be decoded, but repeated reading of the same code is inhibited. Setting: Datalogic Settings / Scanner & decoder / Scanner options / Double read Timeout
The default value is 2 seconds and can be adjusted according to operational needs.
Firmware Device Support
The new GS1 Digital Link features are available on the following devices and firmware versions:
| Product | OS | Firmware Version |
|---|---|---|
| Memor 30/35 | Android 13 | v1.03.002.20240415 or later |
| Memor 12/17 | Android 13 | v1.16.004.20241204 or later |
| Joya Touch 22 | Android 13 Android 11 |
v4.04.001.20240905 or later v1.16.001.20240731s or later |
| Skorpio X5 | Android 13 Android 11 |
v4.04.002.20240909 or later v3.29.001.20240729s or later |
| Memor 20 | Android 13 Android 11 |
v4.04.001.20240905 or later v3.29.001.20240730s or later |
| Memor 11 | Android 13 Android 11 |
v2.00.01.20240710 or later v1.09.19.20241013 or later |