Viridicode
Smart barcodes for living good.
With ViridiCode, you give each batch of living good a unique, scannable identity. Based on the GS1 QR code and developed specifically for the garden industry.
Introduction
The ViridiCode standard explained
With this website we want to inform you about the barcoding of live goods. For this purpose, a barcode standard called ‘ViridiCode’ has been developed, which is an elaboration of the GS1 QR code with Digital Link.
This website is intended for garden center owners who want to learn more about barcoding of live goods, but is also intended for service providers in the green industry who want to offer improvements in plant barcoding as a service to their customers.
For this diverse group of users, the ViridiCode standard was developed: a smart, flexible bar coding system that fits the daily practice of the green industry.
Garden Centers
For fast scanning and up-to-date inventory management
Wholesale & suppliers
For unique batch identification in the chain
Service providers & software partners
For integration into systems and labeling solutions
Growers & producers
For transparent delivery and linkage with VBN
History
The history of the Barcode
Bar coding as we know it today has come a long way. From simple black bars to clever QR codes with digital links. Here you can read how it started – and why that matters to the world of living good.
The first bar code (1950-1974)
The barcode was invented in the 1950s. But it wasn’t until 1974 that the first barcode was scanned in a store in Ohio to sell a pack of gum. After that moment, the barcode continued to evolve and the well-known barcodes such as GTIN (Ean 13), Ean 128, Code39 and many others were created.
1D barcodes and their limitations
They can contain a limited number sequence and, in some cases, text. These bar codes are called one-dimensional bar codes, also known as “1D. It means that all the information is on 1 horizontally readable line.
For this reason, traditional barcode scanners display a horizontal stripe that makes a barcode easy to read. The more information you want to store in a 1D barcode, the wider it becomes. A moment then arises when the barcode becomes so wide that it is practically impossible to print and scan.
The move to 2D barcodes (from 1994)
Around 1994, Denso invented the QR code, and the same year International Data Matrix Inc invented the Datamatrix barcode. These are two-dimensional bar codes (2D) and the reason behind this invention had to do with limiting the amount of data that could be stored in a 1D bar code.
With the 2D barcode, the information is not only located horizontally but also vertically. In order for a barcode to be read by a barcode scanner, it will have to take a picture of it and translate it into the contents of the barcode.
For this reason, a 1D barcode scanner will never be able to read a 2D barcode. Conversely, a 2D scanner will be able to read the contents of a 1D barcode via an image.
Barcoding
GTIN and the limits of traditional barcodes
The GTIN barcode has been a reliable standard for many years. But with live commodities, such as plants, the system appears to have limits. Below you can read why – in three parts.
How does the GTIN barcode work?
Since the first barcode scan in 1974 and the subsequent introduction of the GTIN (Ean 13) barcode, articles have been barcoded. The structure of a GTIN barcode consists of 13 digits with the first 7 to 11 digits representing the company ‘prefix’ number. The remaining available digits are called the product code, and the last digit of a GTIN barcode is always the (calculated) control number.
The company prefix is unique worldwide and is issued to suppliers by GS1. The shorter the company prefix, the more digits you have left for the product code. But a shorter prefix (or a larger product code range) also means higher costs for reserving that prefix.
When do you use a new GTIN?
GS1 prescribes that a new GTIN code is desired or required when the item is new, modifies an existing item where it is visible, when it is required by law or when it is necessary for further processing in the chain.
Why doesn't this work for plants?
Plants have the wonderful property that they change every day, that the supply on the international market is different every day, and that the same plant can be sold in different appearances. Reason enough to issue a new GTIN barcode each time, but with the limited product code range available, it is completely impossible to generate barcodes needed for the huge amount of varieties.
GS1 QR Code
GS1 QR code: the successor to GTIN
Starting in 2027, the traditional GTIN barcode will be replaced by a QR code that can contain much more information. This so-called GS1 QR code is more than a label: it is a digital gateway to product information, variations and batches. Here you can read how it works – and what this means for the green industry.
From 1D to 2D: more space for information
A big advantage as mentioned earlier is that you can put much more information in 2D barcodes than in a 1D barcode. But without some form of agreement on how to record that information, a 2D barcode will never become an industry standard.
The GS1 QR code as the new standard
GS1 recently chose to promote the QR barcode as a full-fledged successor to the existing GTIN barcode. Starting in 2027, suppliers will be expected to label items with a QR code instead of a GTIN barcode.
This promotion goes along with an explanation of how to capture information in that QR code. Of course you will find the GTIN barcode in it, but there is also room for a website reference. When a consumer with a phone scans the QR code, they can be redirected to a website with additional product information.
Digital Link: free space for additional data
In addition to the GTIN and a website URL, GS1 has introduced “Digital Link. This is free space in the GS1 QR code to include additional data. For dairy, this could be a THT (Best Before) date, for the white goods industry a serial number or for the food industry a lot number.
For the green industry, Digital Link offers the ability to record additional data such as, for example, the VBN code, lot reference, supplier origin and a sales price.
Viridicode
The advantages of ViridiCode at a glance
Discover how ViridiCode responds to the challenges of plant coding, with unique solutions for traceability, data and field use.
Made for plants
Plants change daily. ViridiCode is excellent at dealing with that.
Party barcode
ViridiCode is not an article barcode but a batch barcode
Based on GS1 QR
ViridiCode is designed to be fully GS1-compliant and future-proof.
Digital Link
Additional info becomes part of the QR barcode.
Ready for labels
Each barcode contains the VBN number of the corresponding cultivar species.
Linkage with VBN
Each barcode contains the VBN number of the corresponding cultivar species.
For each process
Use ViridiCode in inventory management, sales, shrinkage and logistics.
Technically flexible
The code easily integrates into existing software and workflows.
Specifications
Usage & availability
ViridiCode is an invention of NedFox and has been patented and granted. The intellectual property on the ViridiCode standard belongs to NedFox and for that reason we ask you to sign an agreement guaranteeing that. We think it is important that a more than 50-year-old file problem concerning the barcoding of live commodities is finally solved. For that reason, we provide the specifications free of charge. After signing that agreement, you will receive access to the latest documentation. If you want to be able to print ViridiCode labels, you pay a fixed amount per year for the right to use this barcode.
If you need more information and support, we can help you with workshops, technical support and acceptance testing for a good go live.
Getting started right away?
Get the white paper on ViridiCode
Would you like to read everything at your leisure? Then request our white paper with extensive information about the operation, application and advantages of ViridiCode.