Barcode Fonts and Symbologies

Barcode Symbologies are systems of encoding data so a scanner can read the data encoded in the barcode. Each symbology has a set of standards to ensure the barcode can be printed and read by different equipment. These standards define and separate one font from another.

Barcode Character Set

There are three types of character sets: Numeric, Alpha-numeric, and Full ASCII.

A Numeric character set means the font can only print digits 0 through 9. No alpha characters can be used.

A Alpha-Numeric character set means the symbology can encode the digits 0 through 9 as well as alphabetic characters from A through Z.

A Full ASCII character set is one that allows the encoding of the full ASCII character set. This implies any ASCII character, value 0 through 127, may be encoded by the symbology.

Fixed/Variable Length Symbologies

Symbologies may be either fixed or variable-length.

A fixed-length symbology is one which must, by definition, encode a certain number of characters or digits. For example, a UPC-A barcode always encodes 12 digits of data. An application may not encode less or more than the pre-defined fixed-length of 12 characters. The symbology itself defines the length of data.

A variable-length symbology is one which can carry a message of any length. For example, Code 128 may encode any number of characters that can reasonably fit physically in the printed barcode. The symbology itself does not define how many characters of data must be encoded.

Choosing a Barcode Font

Selecting a font may be dictated by your customer or supplier. Most retailers demand UPC Barcodes on products. The automotive industry commonly uses Code 39 fonts on product labels.

Code 128 is the recommended symbology for most industrial applications today. The UCC and EAN have set standards for Bar codes using this symbology. The three different subsets (A,B & C) within UCC/EAN Code 128 allow this symbology to encode all 128 ASCII characters.

For internal company use code 128 allows you to use alphanumeric characters and it also allows the maximum number of digits per bar code inch. A standard 3 inch barcode reader can read about 23 digits of Code 128. Using Code 39 the reader can process only about 10 digits.

Common uses for Bar codes would be item number labels, work order and document numbers, employee badges, fixed asset tags, serial and lot numbers, physical inventory tags and rack or bin labels.

Seradex ERP supports printing and reading all symbologies listed here

Symbology	Where Used	Digits	Information
UPC-A	Consumer products in U.S.	12	Numeric
UPC-E	Short version of UPC symbol	6	Numeric
EAN-13	Consumer products internationally	13	Numeric
EAN-8	Short version of EAN-13	8	Numeric
Bookland	ISBN number on Books	Open	Numeric
Interleaved 2 of 5	Warehouse, industrial applications	Open	Numeric
Code 11	For telecommunications equipment	Open	Numeric
Postnet	Printed by U.S. Post Office on envelopes	Open	Numeric
Codabar	Used in libraries and blood banks	Open	Numeric
Code 128	Very dense code, used extensively	Open	AlphaNumeric
UCC/EAN-128	Used to encode shipping/product information	Open	AlphaNumeric
SISAC	Encodes serial items/periodic magazines	Open	AlphaNumeric
Code 39	Industrial, U.S. Government and DoD	Open	AlphaNumeric
Code 93	Compressed form of Code 39	Open	AlphaNumeric

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