Method, system and apparatus for processing barcode data

A barcode scanning system and method, and hand-held contact scanner are provided. The contact scanner includes a photoemitter, a photodetector, a screen, abutted against the photodetector, for limiting the amount of light reaching the photodetector, a lens placed in front of the screen a memory for storing data related to transitions detected in the reflected beam; an infrared (IR) transceiver for transmitting the stored data to a host, a processor programmed to allow the scanner to read a barcode when the scanner is moved over the barcode at a lineal speed between one inch/second and five inches/second, a first manually-operated switch for activating the photoemitter in order to read the barcode; and a second manually-operated switch for causing the data stored in the memory to be transmitted by the IR transceiver.