Supported barcode types
Refer to Enum BarcodeType in the API REFERENCE for details.
Table 1. 1D Barcodes
| Type | Specifications | Example |
|---|---|---|
| EAN-13 | EAN encoding 13 digits. EAN-13 is a numeric, fixed-length barcode for 13 characters. The barcodes are composed of two characters for the country digit, followed by ten data characters and a check digit. (The user encodes 12 digits.) EAN-13 - EAN stands for “European Article Number” - is the standard of the publishing industry for the ISBN numbers on books and publications. EAN-13 is actually a European version of UPC-A. | EAN13 |
| EAN-8 | EAN encoding 8 digits. EAN-8 is a numeric, fixed-length barcode for eight characters. The barcodes are composed of two characters for the country code, followed by five data characters and a check digit. (The user encodes seven digits.) EAN stands for “European Article Number” - is used for products where the origin country must be encoded. It is actually a European version of UPC-A. | EAN8 |
| MSI | MSI - also called “Plessey” in some literature - is a variable-length, numeric barcode that allows to encode up to 13 characters. Historically speaking, MSI was one of the first symbologies ever to be developed. Nowadays, MSI is used mainly in the grocery industry for shelf labels and inventory control. This is no surprise, because it is a “robust” barcode that stands up to well to “tear and wear”. Each character of the barcodes consists of 8 elements - 4 bars and 4 spaces. MSI barcodes are not self-checking, the use of a check digit is therefore highly recommended. | MSI |
| MSI Pharma | A variation of MSI with a double check digit that is used by pharmaceutical companies. | |
| UPC-A | UPC is a coding system as well as a symbology; it is designed to uniquely identify a product and its manufacturer. UPC-A is a fixed-length, numeric barcode that allows to encode 12 characters. The barcodes are composed of a number system digit (encoded in odd parity), the manufacturer’s code (encoded in odd parity), the product code and a check digit. (The user encodes 11 digits.) The check digit is verified but filtered from the reading result when the option “Verify and Erase Check Digit” is enabled, otherwise, it is read and included in the output. Disable this option to support the variation of UPC which does not contain a check digit. Apart from the check digit, there is a left, center and right guard pattern. The first half of the barcodes uses odd parity digits, the second half uses even parity digits. UPC stands for “Universal Product Code” - has been designed to uniquely identify a product and its manufacturer. | UPC-A |
| UPC-E | UPC-E is a variation of the UPC-A symbol. UPC-E is restricted to 6 digits and “zero suppressed” - UPC-E compresses the 12 digit UPC codes into six digits by suppressing the number system digit, trailing zeros in the manufacturer’s code and leading zeros in the product code. | UPC-E |
| Codabar | Codabar is a primarily numeric, self-checking and variable-length barcode for up to 16 data characters. There is a leading and trailing quiet zone and a start and stop character (A B C D). This standard is used primarily for numeric applications; you can encode the digits and six special characters (- . $ / + :). The digits and the $ and - symbol are printed with one wide bar and one space. The start and stop characters (A, B, C and D) are printed with one wide bar and two white spaces. | Codabar |
| Interleaved 2 of 5 | Interleaved 2 of 5 is a numeric, self-checking, variable-length and highly compact barcode. A character is defined by five black bars and five spaces; two black and two white bars are wide, all others bars are white. There is a leading and trailing quiet zone, a start and stop character and an optional check character. The encoding is “interleaved” as the odd position numbers are encoded in the bars and the numbers in even positions in the spaces. These barcodes must by necessity contain an even number of digits. (The length is often used as a check in itself.) | i2of5 |
| Code 39 | Code 39 is an alphanumeric, self-checking, variable-length barcode. A character is defined by five black bars and four spaces; three elements are wide, six are narrow. There is a leading and trailing quiet zone, a start and stop character (the asterisk), an optional check character and a gap between the data characters. This symbology is sometimes called “3 of 9 code”. It is primarily used where alphabetic characters are mandatory as you can not only encode the digits, but also the uppercase letters and seven special characters (- . $ / + % and a space). Code 39 is a widely used industrial barcode and is mandated for some automotive industry and Department of Defense labels, because of its ability to represent alphanumeric data. | Code39 |
| Code 39 Extended | This is an extended version of Code 39 that supports the ASCII character set. So with Code 39 extended you can also code the 26 lower letters (a-z) and the special characters you have on your keyboard. This code allows to encode the full 128 ASCII character set. The “full” ASCII set refers to all characters up to character 128 in the ASCII table set, the “special” and accentuated symbols from 128 onwards such as ? and ? are not included. | Code39 extended |
| Code 39 HIBC | Code 39 HIBC (“Health Industry Barcode”) is a Code 39 barcode with a check character. | |
| Code 93 | Code 93 is a alphanumeric, self-checking, variable-length barcode. Every character is composed of nine elements arranged in three bars with adjacent spaces. A character is defined by five black bars and four spaces; three elements are wide, six are narrow. There is a leading and trailing quiet zone, a start and stop character, a termination bar and two check characters. The check characters are verified but filtered from the output. Code 93 is an extended version of Code 39 that allows to encode the full 128 ASCII character set. The “full” ASCII set refers to all characters up to character 128 in the ASCII table set, the “special” and accentuated symbols from 128 onwards such as ? and ? are not included. Code 93 is also slightly more compact than Code 39. This standard is used in an alphanumeric context as you can define the complete 128 ASCII character set. Code 93 is specifically designed to provide a more compact version of Code 39 due to its high-density complement. | Code93 |
| Code 128 | Code 128 is a very high-density alphanumeric symbology. The Code 128 character set includes the digits 0-9, the letters A-Z (upper and lower cases), and all standard ASCII symbols and control codes. It is a specialized barcode symbology for the banking world. | Code128 |
| Postnet | The US postal barcode. Postnet, Postnet 32, Postnet 52, Postnet 62. PostNet is a numeric barcode for 5, 9 or 11 characters. PostNet is different from the other symbologies, as the data is encoded in the height of the bars, not in the width of the bars and spaces, therefore few barcode reader can decode PostNet barcodes. (This allows great flexibility: successful decoding is hardly dependent on brightness.) | Postnet |
| Patchcode | Patchcode are a set of 6 barcodes that are used to separate documents during scanning. A patch code is a pattern of parallel, alternating black bars and spaces that is printed on a document. The patch code does not actually contain data; it is just a code which provides information to document processing. The scanners which can understand patch codes can automatically switch through different modes, saving this way a lot of time during scanning. | Patchcode |
| UCC-128 | UCC 128, also known as GS1-128 is an application standard of the GS1 implementation using the Code 128 barcode specification. | UCC128 |
Table 2. 2D Barcodes
| Type | Specifications | Example |
|---|---|---|
| PDF 417 | PDF417 is a two-dimensional, stacked, public-domain barcode . (“PDF” stands for “Portable Data File”.) It is a multi-row, continuous, variable length symbology that has high data capacity of storing up to about 1,800 printable ASCII characters or 1,100 binary character per symbol. The symbol is rectangular; the shape of the symbol can be adjusted to some extent by setting the width and allowing the height to grow with the data. It is also possible to break large number of data into several PDF417 symbols that can logically linked. See also PDF 417 error correction. | PDF417 |
| QR code | QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is a type of matrix barcode widely used across different industries due to its fast readability and greater storage capacity. The information encoded by a QR code may be made up of four standardized types (“modes”) of data (numeric, alphanumeric, byte / binary, Kanji) or, through supported extensions, virtually any type of data. | QR |
| Data Matrix | Data Matrix is a high density 2D symbology that can encode up to 3116 characters from the entire 256 byte ASCII character set. The most popular application for Data Matrix is marking small items, due to the code’s ability to encode fifty characters in a symbol that is readable at 2 or 3 mm2 (0.003 or 0.005 sq in) and the fact that the code can be read with only a 20% contrast ratio. A Data Matrix is scalable. | Datamatrix |
| Aztec | Aztec code is a type of 2D barcode that has the potential to use less space than other matrix barcodes because it does not require a surrounding quiet zone. | PDF417 |