An important thing to know before you decide to rent a scanner/reader is what kind of barcode your trade show will be using on their badges. This is important because it helps us find the best scanner for your needs. 1D barcoded badges usually contain a combination of numbers and letters that relates to a database records which contains all the information of that person (for example, ABC123). It is similar to a license plate which has numbers and letters on it and has no meaning in and of itself, except when the license number is used to look up your information in your database record. This type of barcode would have no value for someone that has no access to the database record and would be meaningless.
On the other hand, a 2D barcode can contain the complete database record and when it is scanned it is like being connected to that database record. This kind of badge can be useful to exhibitors because they can scan the barcode and capture the full name, address, email, phone, etc. into the barcode reader and then transfer this data into a spreadsheet for later mailings and other marketing activities. The following images are examples of the different barcodes.