CODE
39 (Normal
and full versions)
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The Normal CODE 39 is a variable length symbology
that can encode 44 characters. Code 39 is the most
popular symbology in the non retail world and is used
extensively in manufacturing, military, and health
applications. Each Code 39 bar code is framed by a
start/stop character. The Asterisk is reserved for this
purpose and may not be used in the body of a message. Code
39 optionally allows for a check character in cases where
data security is important. The health care industry has
adopted the use of this check character.
The full version of Code 39 is a modification of the
standard version that can encode the complete 128 ASCII
character set . The Full ASCII version is implemented by
using the four characters: $/+%. as shift characters to
change the meanings of the rest of the characters in the
Normal Code 39 character set. Because the full version
uses shift characters in combination with other standard
characters to represent data not in the Normal Code 39
character set, each non-standard character requires twice
the width of a standard character in a printed symbol.
Note: Because all of the characters used to implement
full Code 39 are part of the Normal Code 39 character
set, readers that do not support full Code 39 will still
read full Code 39 symbols. The reader will output shifted
characters as if they were normal Code 39 characters.
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UPC-A,
UPC-E, and
additional UPC 
UPC-A with
additional UPC-E
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UPC-A is a 12 digit, numeric symbology
used in retail applications. UPC-A symbols consist of 11
data digits and one check digit. The first digit is a
number system digit that usually represents the type of
product being identified. The following 5 digits are a
manufacturers code and the next 5 digits are used to
identify a specific product. UPC numbers are assigned
to specific products and manufacturers by the Uniform
Code Council (UCC). To apply for a UPC number or for more
information, you can contact the UCC at 8163 Old Yankee
Road, Suite J, Dayton, OH 45458 Tel: 513-435-3870
UPC-E is a smaller, six digit, UPC symbology for
number system 0. It is often used for small retail items.
UPC-E is also called "zero suppressed" because
UPC-E compresses a normal 12 digit UPC-A code into a six
digit code by "suppressing" the number system
digit, trailing zeros in the manufacturers code and
leading zeros in the product identification part of the
bar code. A seventh check digit is encoded into a parity
pattern for the six main digits. UPC-E can thus be
uncompressed into a standard UPC-A 12 digit number.
Both UPC-A and UPC-E allow for an additional two or
five digit number to be appended to the main bar code
symbol. This additional message was designed for use on
publications and periodicals. If you enter an additional
message, it must consist of either two or five numeric
digits. The additional is simply a small additional bar
code that is added onto the right side of a standard UPC
symbol.
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EAN-8
/ EAN-13,
BookLan and EAN
Additional 
EAN-8 EAN-13 with
Additional(ISBN Version)
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EAN or European Article Numbering system
(also called JAN in Japan) is a European version of UPC.
It uses the same size requirements and a similar encoding
scheme as for UPC codes. EAN-8 encodes 8 numeric
digits consisting of two country code digits, five data
digits and one check digit. EAN-13 is the Euro version of
UPC-A. The difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A is that
EAN-13 encodes a 13th digit into the parity pattern of
the left six digits of a UPC-A symbol. This 13th digit,
combined with the 12th digit, usually represent a country
code.
Both EAN-8 and EAN-13 support an additional two or
five digit number to be appended to the main bar code
symbol. The additional is designed for use on
publications and periodicals. Additional messages must
consist of either two or five numeric digits and will
appear as a small additional bar code on the right side
of a standard EAN symbol.
EAN bar code numbers are assigned to specific products
and manufacturers by an organization called ICOF located
in Brussels, Belgium. Tel: 011-32-2218-7674
EAN-13 has been adopted as the standard in the
publishing industry for encoding ISBN numbers on books.
An ISBN or BookLan bar code is simply an EAN-13 symbol
consisting of the ISBN number preceded by the digits 978.
The additional in an ISBN bar code is simply the retail
price of the book preceded by the digit 5. For example,
if your ISBN number is 1-56276-008-4 and the price of the
book is $29.95 then you would enter 978156276008 as the
bar code message and 52995 for the additional. If you
choose BookLan as the bar code symbology, we will
automatically create the correct EAN-13 bar code if you
supply just the first 10 digits of the ISBN number and
optionally a price
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| CODABAR
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CodaBar is a variable length symbology
that allows encoding of 20 characters: numerals and
-$:/.+ABCD. CodaBar is commonly used in libraries, blood
banks, and the air parcel business. CodaBar uses the
characters A B C and D only as start and stop characters.
Thus, the first and last digits of a CodaBar message must
be A B C or D and the body of the message should not
contain these characters. CodaBar message can be any
length of as long as it contains valid characters and
starts and ends with a valid start/stop character. Lower
case letters for A B C or D, will be converted to upper
case. go to index
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INTERLEAVED 2 OF 5
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Interleaved 2 of 5 is a high density
variable length numeric only symbology that encodes digit
pairs in an interleaved manner. The odd position digits
are encoded in the bars and the even position digits are
encoded in the spaces. Because of this, I 2 of 5 bar
codes must consist of an even number of digits. Also,
because partial scans of I 2 of 5 bar codes have a slight
chance of being decoded as a valid (but shorter) bar
code, readers are usually set to read a fixed (even)
number of digits when reading I 2 of 5 symbols. The
number of digits are usually pre-defined for a particular
application and all readers used in the application are
programmed to only accept I 2 of 5 bar codes of the
chosen length. Shorter data can be left padded with zeros
to fit the proper length. Interleaved 2 of 5
optionally allows for a weighted modulo 10 check
character for special situations where data security is
important.
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DISCRETE
2 OF 5
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Discrete 2 of 5 is a variable length numeric
symbology very similar to Interleaved 2 of 5 except that
instead of encoding data in both the bars and the spaces,
data is only encoded in the bars. Because of this,
discrete 2 of 5 is not as compact as Interleaved 2 of 5
and also, odd numbers of digits may be encoded. Use of
Discrete 2 of 5 is not very common and few bar code
readers support this symbology. go
to index
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CODE
93
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CODE 93 is a variable length symbology
that can encode the complete 128 ASCII character set.
Code 93 was developed as an enhancement to the CODE 39
symbology by providing a slightly higher character
density than CODE 39. CODE 93 also incorporates two check
digits as an added measure of security. Although CODE 93
is considered more robust than CODE 39, it has never
achieved the same popularity as Code 39. CODE 93 bar
codes are framed by a special start/stop character. go to index
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CODE
128
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Code 128 is a variable length, high density,
alphanumeric symbology. Code 128 has 106 different bar
and space patterns and each pattern can have one of three
different meanings, depending on which of three different
character sets is employed. Special start characters tell
the reader which of the character sets is initially being
used and three special shift codes permit changing
character sets inside a symbol. One character sets
encodes all upper case and ASCII control characters,
another encodes all upper and lower case characters and
the third set encodes numeric digit pairs 00 through 99.
This third character set effectively doubles the code
density when printing numeric data. Code 128 also employs
a check digit for data security. In addition to ASCII
characters, Code 128 also allows encoding of four special
function codes (FNC1 - FNC4). The meaning of function
code FNC1 and FNC4 were originally left open for
application specific purposes. Recently an agreement was
made by the Automatic Identification Manufacturers Assoc.
(AIM) and the European Article Numbering Assoc. (EAN) to
reserve FNC1 for use in EAN applications. FNC4 remains
available for use in closed system applications. FNC2 is
used to instruct a bar code reader to concatenate the
message in a bar code symbol with the message in the next
symbol. FNC3 is used to instruct a bar code reader to
perform a reset. When FNC3 is encoded anywhere in a
symbol, any data also contained in the symbol is
discarded. The four function codes can be added to a
message. go to index
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EAN/UCC
128
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The EAN/UCC 128 symbology is a variation
of the original Code 128 symbology designed primarily for
use in product identification applications. The EAN/UCC
128 specification uses the same code set as Code 128
except that it does not allow function codes FNC2-FNC4 to
be used in a symbol and FNC1 is used as part of the start
code in the symbol. The check digit in EAN/UCC128 symbols
is also calculated differently than in Code 128. go to index
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POSTNET
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POSTNET (POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique) is a 5, 9
or 11 digit numeric only bar code symbology used by the
U.S. Postal Service to encode ZIP Code information for
automatic mail sorting by zip code. The bar code may
represent a five digit ZIP Code (32 bars), a nine digit
ZIP + 4 code (52 bars) or an eleven digit Delivery Point
code (62 bars). POSTNET is unlike other bar codes
because data is encoded in the height of the bars instead
of in the widths of the bars and spaces. Most standard
bar code readers cannot decode
POSTNET. This symbology was chosen by the Postal
Service mainly because it is extremely easy to print on
almost any type of printer. POSTNET is a fixed dimension
symbology meaning that the height, width and spacing of
all bars must fit within exact tolerances.
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| Postal FIM Patterns  
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FIM or Facing Identification Mark patterns are
another type of postal bar code used in automated mail
processing by the U.S. Postal Service. FIM patterns are
used for automatic facing and canceling of mail that does
not contain a stamp or meter imprint (business reply
mail, penalty mail, etc.). They also provide a means of
separating business and courtesy reply mail from other
letters. Three FIM patterns are currently in use. FIM-A
is used on courtesy reply mail that has been preprinted
with Postnet bar codes. FIM-B is used on business reply,
penalty and franked (government) mail that is not
preprinted with Postnet bar codes. FIM-C is used on
business reply, penalty and franked mail that has been
preprinted with Postnet bar codes. FIM patterns are
placed in the upper right corner along the top edge and
two inches in from the right edge of letters and cards.
For more information about all postal bar codes contact
the US post office. go to index
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PDF417
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PDF417 is a high density 2 dimensional bar code
symbology that essentially consists of a stacked set of
smaller bar codes. The symbology is capable of encoding
the entire (255 character) ASCII set. PDF stands for
"Portable Data File" because it can encode as
many as 2725 data characters in a single bar code. The
complete specification for PDF417 provides many encoding
options including data compaction options, error
detection and correction options, and variable size and
aspect ratio symbols. The symbology was published by
Symbol Technologies, Inc. to fulfill the need for higher
density bar codes. The low level structure of a PDF417
symbol consists of an array of code words (small bar and
space patterns) that are grouped together and stacked on
top of each other to produce the complete printed symbol.
An individual code word consists of a bar and space
pattern 17 modules wide. The user may specify the module
width, the module height, and the overall aspect ratio
(overall height to width ratio) for the complete symbol.
A complete PDF417 symbol consists of at least 3 rows of
up to 30 code words and may contain up to 90 code word
rows per symbol with a maximum of 928 code words per
symbol. The code words in a PDF417 symbol are
generated using one of three data compaction modes
currently defined in the symbology specifications. This
allows more than one character to be encoded into a
single data code word. Because different data compaction
algorithms may be used, it is possible for different
printed symbols to be created from the same input data.
The symbology also allows for varying degrees of data
security or error correction and detection. Nine
different error correction levels are available with each
higher level adding additional overhead to the printed
symbol.
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BPO 4
State Code
(British Post Office,
Royal Mail Code)  |
BPO (British Post Office) 4 State Code is a new
postal bar code symbology that has been developed by the
British Post office for encoding European postcode data
similar to the way the U.S. PostNET symbology is used for
encoding Zip Code data. At the time of this writing, the
BPO 4 State Code has not been officially adopted as the
standard for European postal applications however it is
anticipated that it will be sanctioned sometime in 1995.
The goal of BPO 4 State Code is to provide European
countries with a simple and efficient postal bar coding
scheme. The U.S. PostNET symbology encodes numeric
characters in a pattern of four bars per character with
each bar being either tall or short (i.e. two possible
"states" for each bar). The U.S. technique thus
allows for up to 16 different possible bar patterns for
each set of four bars and is adequate for encoding the
ten digits zero through nine. Because European postcodes
contain both alpha and numeric characters, (thus
requiring a minimum of 36 different possible patterns for
the characters A-Z and 0 to 9), each character in the BPO
4 State Code is encoded into four bars with each bar
having four possible "states". The four states
are: tall bars, short bars, medium height bars extended
up from the middle of the symbol and medium height bars
extended down from the middle of the symbol. In
theory,the BPO 4 State Code is capable of encoding up to
128 different characters however only the characters A
through Z and 0 to 9 have been assigned unique bar
patterns.
BPO 4 State Code is a fixed dimension symbology
meaning that the height, width and spacing of all bars
must fit within exact tolerances. We will only create BPO
4 State Code bar codes that follow the guidelines
published by the British Postal Service.
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