Popular Barcode Symbologies
The following is a list of the most popular bar code symbologies in use today:
Codabar
Also known as USD-4, NW-7, and 2 of 7 code, is used in libraries, blood banks, the overnight package delivery industry, and a variety of other information processing applications.
Code 39
Also known as LOGMARS, Code 3 of 9 and the 3 of 9 Code, it is an alpha-numeric barcode and is one of the most popular bar codes used in a variety of industries. Each Code 39 character is constructed of five bars and four spaces, for a total of nine elements. Three of these are always wider than the rest. LOGMARS (Logistics Applications of Automated Marking and Reading Symbols) is an application of Code 39 used by the United States Department of Defense
Code 16K
A multi row symbology, Code 16K offers high information density encoding of the full (128-character) ASCII set and double density encoding of numeric data strings
Code 128
Code 128 is a very compact and versatile language which allows the encodation of the entire 128 ASCII character set. This symbology is self-checking and is designed with geometric features to improve scanner read performance.
Datamatrix
Data Matrix is a 2-D matrix code designed for putting a lot of information in a very small space and can store between one and 500 characters. The symbol is also scalable between a 1-mil square to a 14-inch square. That means that a Data Matrix symbol has a maximum theoretical density of 500 million characters to the inch! The practical density will be limited by the resolution of the printing and reading technology used. Symbols between one-eight inch square to seven inches square can be read at distances ranging from contact to 36 inches away. Typical reading rates are 5 symbols per second.
The most popular applications for Datamatrix is the marking of small items such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The code is read by CCD video camera or CCD scanner.
EAN
There are two different versions of EAN bar codes, EAN 8 and EAN 13, which can encode 8 and 13 digit numbers. All other countries aside from the United States utilize the EAN bar code for identification on retail goods. The symbol is identical to the UPC-A with one exception, the EAN bar code represents thirteen numeric characters instead of twelve.
Interleaved 2 of 5
Interleaved 2 of 5 is a numeric-only high density symbology that is very compact because information is encoded in both the bars and spaces. Only an even number of numeric data can be encoded within this symbol. This “double density” symbol encodes odd positioned data in the bars, and even positioned data in the spaces. Interleaved 2 of 5 bar codes are used on corrugated boxes, in the shipping industry, and in laboratories.
MSI Plessey
Was designed in the 1970s by the Plessey Company in England and has been used primarily in libraries and retail applications.
MaxiCode
MaxiCode is a two-dimensional matrix symbology containing a fixed number of dark and light hexagonal modules. The symbol is specified to be a fixed size. MaxiCode has a bulls eye finder pattern in the center of the symbol. A two-dimensional device such as a CCD camera is necessary to scan the symbology.
MaxiCode is designed with two selectable levels of error correction capability. It supports industry standard escape sequences to define international code pages and special encodation schemes. MaxiCode is used by the United Parcel Service to encode address and customer specified data on shipping packages which are scanned on high-speed conveyors.
PDF417
PDF417 is a two-dimensional bar code consists of a stack of vertically aligned rows with a minimum of 3 rows (maximum 90 rows). Each row includes a minimum of 1 symbol character (maximum 30 symbol characters), excluding start, stop and row indicator columns. A PDF417 symbol may contain up to 928 symbol characters or codewords. It is used whenever large amounts of information is required in a small space. The Gettysburg address can be put into a 1″ x 1″ PDF417 square.
POSTNET
(POSTal Numeric Encoding Technique) bar code was developed by the US Post Office to encode zip code information. POSTNET bar codes printed on US mail improve the speed, accuracy and delivery of mail. Some US Post Offices even offer a discount for sending bulk mail when the POSTNET bar code is used.
The Universal Product Code (UPC) was the first bar code symbology widely adopted. Its birth is usually set at April 3, 1973, when the grocery industry formally established UPC as the standard bar code symbology for product marking. Foreign interest in UPC led to the adoption of the EAN code format, similar to UPC, in December 1976.
There are now five versions of UPC and two versions of EAN. The Japanese Article Numbering (JAN) code has a single version identical to one of the EAN versions with the flag characters set to “49”.
UCC/EAN128
A variation of the Code 128 symbology was designed primarily for product/shipment identification applications. The UCC/EAN-128 specification uses the same code set as Code 128, however a special character (function 1) is used as part of the start code in the symbol. In addition, UCC/EAN-128 symbols utilize standardized application identifiers (AI’s). By 2005 all US retailers will have to be able to scan all EAN/UCC article numbers (8, 12, 13 and 14-digit).
