Barcode Generator

barcode

barcodeIt is a graphical identifier composed of multiple black bars and blank spaces of varying widths arranged in accordance with specific encoding rules to represent a set of information. A typical barcode consists of parallel patterns of black bars (referred to as bars) and white spaces (referred to as spaces) with significantly different reflectivity. A barcode can indicate a wealth of information such as the country of origin, manufacturer, product name, production date, book classification number, mail origin and destination, category and date. Therefore, it is widely applied in numerous fields including commodity circulation, library management, postal services and banking systems.

Barcode Types

Common barcode symbologies worldwide include EAN, UPC, 25 barcode, Interleaved 2 of 5, Codabar, Code 39, and Code 128.

UPC Barcode (Universal Product Code): It can only represent numeric characters and comes in five versions: A, B, C, D and E. Version A contains 12 digits, while Version E has 7 digits. The last digit serves as the check digit. Its standard dimension is 1.5 inches in width (1 inch = 2.54 cm) and 1 inch in height, with a plain background required. It is mainly used in the United States and Canada, and widely applied in industries such as manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and warehousing.

EAN Barcode: It is an internationally accepted symbol system. As a fixed-length non-significant barcode, it can only represent numeric information and is primarily applied for commodity identification.

Code 39 and Code 128 Barcodes: They are customized symbologies commonly used by domestic enterprises at present. Their length and encoded content can be defined as required. They can encode not only numbers but also letters. They are mainly applied in industrial production lines, library management and other scenarios, such as indicating product serial numbers, book codes and document numbers.

Code 93: A barcode similar to Code 39. It features higher density and is also suitable for industrial manufacturing applications.

Interleaved 2 of 5 Barcode: It can only represent digits from 0 to 9 with a variable length. This barcode is continuous, where all bars and spaces carry encoded information. The first digit starts with a bar, and the second digit is composed of a space. It is widely used in commodity wholesale, warehousing, airports, production and packaging identification, and commercial scenarios. Featuring a high recognition rate, it supports reliable scanning with fixed scanners and boasts the highest density among all one-dimensional barcodes.

Codabar Barcode: Also known as the blood bank code. It can represent digits 0 to 9, along with the symbols $, + and -. It also includes four characters a, b, c, d that are exclusively used as start and stop markers. Its quiet zone is ten times wider than the narrow bar. As a discrete barcode, each character is formed by four bars and three spaces. It features variable length and has no check digit. It is mainly applied to donor management and blood bank administration at blood stations, and also widely used in material management, library systems and airport parcel delivery services.

PDF417 Two-dimensional Barcode (referred to as 417 Barcode): It is a classic 2D barcode symbology that does not require connection to a database and can store large amounts of data independently. PDF417 Barcode is mainly used in hospitals, driver licenses, material management and freight transportation. It features powerful error correction capability, which enables correct decoding even if the barcode is partially damaged. Developed by Symbol Technologies in 1990, PDF417 is a multi-row, continuous, variable-length symbolic identifier with massive data capacity. Each barcode consists of 3 to 90 rows, and each row contains a start segment, a data segment and a stop segment. Its character set covers all 128 ASCII characters, with a maximum data capacity of 1850 characters.