Saturday 4 June 2011

Can price tags with bar codes set off alarms?

I got into an argument with my friend the other day after the alarm went of on someone in the library while we were in there doing a project. I told him that the books had a magnet that sets off the alarm. He told me that the security thing was a metal detector which made me burst out laughing. So we went to a computer to search online so I could prove to him that I was right and it came up with this website.





http://www.howstuffworks.com/anti-shoplifting-device.htm/printable





On the website it talks about the magnetic sensors so I was right. But it also takes about disposible tags like price tags on clothes and such. Do these tags with the bar codes really set off sensors. My friend changed his argument saying the books barcode sets it off because you can%26#039;t see the magnet in the book. I think they are in the spine or something but i must be correct right? I want to ask the librarian but she probably things im planning to steal a book.|||You%26#039;re both right. It%26#039;s connected to the barcode, but there is also a magnetic device within the barcode/label/tag itself.|||First, everything except cloth can hold a small magnet charge set by the security magnetizer witch if the item is still charged, it will set off the alarm. So, no your friend is not right. It is just a small charge that attracts to the book that is pulled off when passed over a demagnetizer. The thing that goes in the clothes is the real magnet in the detector. This is placed there because cloth can%26#039;t hold charges. So, in the end, you are the right person.|||magnet barcodes are in the spine or in the middle of a book, it is set on by a magnetic cube in the library.it can be turned on or off by the librarian.|||I think your right....cuz notice sometimes when u check out a book they swipe the spine along some sort of thingy. Its definitely not in the barcode|||Most places that have these use sensormatic tags or checkpoint tags. Sensormatic tags use radio waves and the tag is like a receiver. The checkpoint tags have to be demagnitized to keep them from setting off the alarms. Neither has to do with metal detection. All the tags are hidden in places where you won%26#039;t know they have them. The Sensormatic tags can be made to look like a label that belongs on the product or part of the product. It%26#039;s not the book%26#039;s barcode, but probably a sensormatic tag. They are flat and about an inch square. The checkpoint tags are about an inch long and about a 1/4%26quot; wide and are raised and usually white. They could hide one of the sensormatic tags up in the spine of the book and you%26#039;d never even pay it any attention that it was there.|||Many years ago when I was a college student my calculator would trip the %26quot;book%26quot; detector - even with the calculator off. I always had a big grin on my face when that happened, I would hand the calculator to the librarian and again walk through the detector and not trip it.





Depends on the library - it might be a special flat sticker inside the cover or a little plastic tag inside the spine, but whatever is inside, it has to stick and not fall out.





Plain barcodes do not trip the alarm. Wikipedia has a long article on this:





Electronic article surveillance


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_鈥?/a>|||Hi,





In a sense you and your friend were both correct.





Library books are protected using a thin metal strip with raised pieces each containing a magnet. These strips are called tattle tapes, I presume because the notion of %26#039;tattling%26#039; is to tell on someone, and thus these tapes in a sense can %26#039;tell on you%26#039; if you pass through a detector with a book that has not been demagnetised by the issuing librarian.





Tattle tapes can be placed anywhere in a book by the Librarian, or the book binder. So short of cutting book to pieces you%26#039;d be silly to think I%26#039;ll just remove the tattle tape and nick the book.





Barcodes are used by infra-red scanners to identify a product. They cannot be used to detect a product is being stolen per se. However, clothing stores do use magenetic strips too. Some are obvious, like those large plastic things they have to unclip from the clothing. Others are more subtle and are placed underneath the barcode sticker.





Either way, they still rely of a magnetic sensor.





You could ofcourse demagnetise them yourself, although you may look kind of odd wandering around with a gadget powerful enough to do this. Mind you Ghost Busters were odd and everyone liked them LOL





Regards,





TgTips