GuruLib Webcam Barcode Reader

Note: webcam are not designed to work as barcode readers, so this flash component won't work as fast as the barcode readers in walmart. You need to bring the barcode very near to the webcam and should have a steady hand. The barcode capture video below will give you an approximate idea how close you need to bring the barcode to the webcam. The flash code tries to capture a good barcode picture with white bars and black bars clearly visible. If your hands are shaky, the webcam blurs the image. Following method worked for us consistently.

1. Make sure that your webcam's manual focus is set to focus on objects around 2 - 3 inches from the webcam.
2. Bring the barcode slowly near to the webcam until it is around 2 - 4 inches and the webcam has a completer view of the barcode. If you have barcodes that EAN 13 (they normally start with 978) then the barcode will be split into two with the larger one to the left then a shorter on after some white space. Dont worry about getting the shorter barcode within the webcam view.
3. Slowly bring it closer to the webcam until the black and white bars becomes clearly visible.
4. Try to keep your hands steady as possible
Let us know your experience and we will try to improve it.

UPDATE:Cheap webcams dont have the resolution to work as barcode scanners. I use Philips SPC325NC Webcam. They cost around $30 at Walmart. I would recommend getting webcam with atleast the same specs as the Philips SPC325NC.