Barcode Type advise

Hi Phillip - a few weeks ago I was doing a search on how different barcode formats behave or pertain to the number/characters you are trying to assign to a barcode; I copied and pasted onto a notepad a pretty good summary of all the major barcode formats (I can't remember the actual web site but if you google "barcode formats" or "code 128" I'm sure you'll get more than enough hits that will give you your info....anyway, here's the section on code 128 a/b/c...hope this helps

Code 128A can encode punctuation, the digits 0 through 9, the English alphabet in uppercase only, the standard ASCII control codes, and the special characters shown in Table 2.

Code 128B can encode punctuation, digits 0 through 9, the English alphabet in both upper and lowercase, and the special characters shown in Table 2.

Code 128C is numeric > I use primarily EAN13 and 128B.

Hello, Philip,

Code 128 is a very reliable code (when it scans, it scans correctly), but it is easier to print an unreadable Code 128 than most other types of barcodes. The reason is that Code 128 uses 3 different bar widths instead of 2, as used by most barcodes. Printing imprecision in width of the bars make it harder for a scanner to discriminate between the different bar widths. Here is a link to an article that provides more detail than you probably want:

I suggest you look at Code 128 Subset C. This format compresses 2 numeric digits into each barcode character. The result is that your barcode can be approximately 1/2 the width of a Code 128B, or you can keep the same overall width and have the bars be twice as wide (making them easier to print and scan). The problem with Code 128C is that it takes a bit more formatting effort on the part of your software. The results, however, are compact and reliable.

The only other code that approaches Code 128C for compactness is Interleaved 2 of 5 (aka. ITF). The problem with I2of5 is that it is not as reliable a code; I strongly recommend that you include the optional Modulo 10 checksum. You won't give up any space since you need to encode 13 digits; I2of5 requires an even number of digits, so the checksum makes an even 14. It is a good idea to check the scanned data for the correct total number of digits; it is statistically possible with I2of5 to get a "short scan", where a diagonal scanner beam picks up a portion of the barcode and misinterprets it as a good barcode. But for numeric data this is about as compact a code as you can get. Here's a link to how the Optical Industry Association uses Interleaved 2 of 5 to mark products:

I hope this helps.

Best Regards,

Bob

Bob Lounsbury The Barcode Software Center

Bob,

Thanks so much for taking the time to explain!

Brilliant!

Phil