I have noticed the last few times I have purchased a book at Barnes and Nobles there have been little bar code stickers inside the book. It looks like someone obviously went through all the books and jammed these bar codes inside for some reason. Anyway, I peeled the bar code off the paper it was stuck to and noticed that the paper was pink with little metallic lines all in it. It almost looked like a microchip. What I’m really asking is if this paper is necessary when someone scans a bar code? Does anyone else know what the heck I’m talking about? Just for your information, the book I purchased was a Dave Barry book; just to let you know what caliber person you’re dealing with here.
The little paper you are refering to is most likely “inventory control” i.e. security devices that will set off alarms when you leave the store. If you notice when you bought the book, they put it on a little panel that “clears” the device so that it DOESN’T set off the alarm. Most items you purchase now have such things, right down to the toothpaste you buy at CVS.
Jason R Remy
“And it could be safely said that at that moment, in the whole of India, no one, absolutely no one, was f^(king a goat.”
– John Irving A Son of the Circus (1994)
I used to work with barcodes quite a bit, so I’m damn well going to answer this even though jayron already beat me to it. That special paper is not necessary for a barcode. You can print valid barcodes from your printer to regular paper. You can photocopy them, fax them, whatever. They still work. You can’t scan them from a computer monitor however. Of course, this makes sense, but of course I tried it anyway.
Just for your information, the book I purchased was a Dave Barry book; just to let you know what caliber person you’re dealing with here.
Ahhh! Wasn’t it Dave himself who first penned ‘steal this book’?
Not a chance! The originator of the aforementioned phrase was Abbie Hoffman(n?) who wrote a book with that title.
Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!