BARCODE SYMBOLOGIES |
| |
|
UPC, EAN, Bookland, & ISSN
UPC barcodes are used in the U.S. and Canada on retail items. EAN and JAN symbols are used in Europe and Japan respectively. Bookland symbols, based on ISBN numbers, are used on books. ISSN barcodes are used on non-U.S. periodicals. All of these symbologies are numeric-only, have a fixed length, and include one or more check digits.
|
 |
Code 128
A dense, compact symbology that supports the *lower 128 ASCII characters. Used whenever space is at a premium. Variable length strings with a mandatory check digit. Widely used in the shipping industry, it has three variations: code set A, code set B, and code set C. The latter is numeric-only and employs simple compression. There are several industry-specific subsets of Code 128. You see this on circuit boards where space is limited as well as hospitals, blood vials, patient charts, etc.
|
 |
Code 39 (Code 3 of 9)
A popular symbology for ID, inventory, and tracking purposes. It has a variable length, supports alphanumeric strings, and can be printed at a variety of sizes and aspect ratios. This is the barcode used anywhere a simple barcode is needed. The full *ASCII version supports the *lower 128 ASCII characters. Rarely used with an optional check digit.
|
 |
Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF)
Interleaved 2 of 5 is a numeric-only symbology that is relatively compact because information is encoded in both the bars and spaces. Interleaved 2 of 5 barcodes are used on corrugated boxes, in the shipping industry and in laboratories. 2 of 5 (non-interleaved) is an older barcode that is not used much today. |
 |
*ASCII =American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
The ASCII table is split into two sections, the lower ASCII table and the upper ASCII table.
The lower ASCII table defines all numbers between 0 and 127… The upper ASCII table defines all numbers between 128 and 159 ... |
Codabar
Codabar is a numeric-only symbology used by FedEx, libraries and blood banks. |
 |
MSI-Plessey
MSI-Plessey is another numeric symbology used in libraries.
|
 |
POSTNET
POSTNET barcodes are used to encode ZIP codes on U.S. mail. Unlike other bar codes, POSTNET symbols consist of bars that vary in height, not width. A check digit is appended to the barcode, which can be used for 5-digit ZIP codes, 9-digit ZIP+4 codes, or the newer 11-digit delivery point barcodes.
|
 |
PDF 417
2D (two dimensional) symbologies are extremely dense barcodes that look like a crossword puzzle or a honeycomb-like matrix. PDF 417 is found on the backs of many states' drivers licenses. Because PDF417 encodes up to 1108 bytes of information, it is really a portable data file (PDF), as opposed to simply being a pointer into an external database. This is not a true 2D barcode symbology. It is a hybrid. It is a stack linear barcode. So, the start-stop characters are left and right. The barcode rows are stacked up on one another. |
 |
| |
|
True 2D Barcode Symbologies: |
Data Matrix
A popular 2D symbology that takes up much less space compared to PDF 417. It's the basis for UID (universal identification) symbols mandated by the Deptartment of Defense. The Start Stop area is the line on the left of the barcode and the bottom line.
A Data Matrix code is a two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black and white square modules arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern. The information to be encoded can be text or raw data. Usual data size is from a few bytes up to 2 kilobytes. The length of the encoded data depends on the symbol dimension used. Error correction codes are added to increase symbol strength: even if they are partially damaged, they can still be read. A Data Matrix symbol can store up to 2,335 alphanumeric characters. |
 |
MaxiCode
A 2D symbology that resembles a honeycomb used by United Parcel Service for fast sorting. The Start Stop Character is the target symbol in the middle of the barcode. |
 |
