embodiment of the invention each barcode is scanned with multiple scan lines spaced apart by a known distance for example distance d the information from the multiple scan lines and the distance between scan lines is used to determine the blur radius once the blur radius has been determined the barcode can be decoded in another example embodiment the placement of the triangles onto the bars of the barcode is varied in a known order between different placement types for example placement types a b c and d with the placement of the triangles varying between the different bars of the barcode a single scan line will intersect the triangle at different locations along the height of the different triangles using the information from the single scan line the blur radius is determined and then the barcode is decoded in another example embodiment a two dimensional 2 d image of the entire barcode is captured using a charged coupled device ccd a single row of pixels or multiple rows of pixels in the 2 d image may be used to determine the blur radius and to decode the information within the barcode in this application a scan line is defined to include an image generated by sweeping a single point of light across a barcode or as an image from a single row of pixels in a 2 d array of pixels that were used to capture the image of the barcode when using four triangles the triangle can be used to add four.