If Choosing Bcr, Which Barcode Type Should You Use - Pitney Bowes FastPac DI900 Manuallines

Scan Codes
and Integrity
Theory
✍
TIP: Complete
barcode specifica-
tions can be found
in Chapter 4, Scan
Code Specifications.
SV61314 Rev. A
DI900/DI950 Scan Code Concepts • 2

If Choosing BCR, Which Barcode Type Should You Use?

The DI900/DI950 supports both Code 3 of 9 and Interleaved 2 of 5 type bar-
codes. Code 3 of 9 is preferred because it is more flexible for expressing
characters, reads more reliably, and it is the type of barcode generated by PB
FIRST™. Interleaved 2 of 5 support is provided for compatibility with existing
(competitive) applications. See table below for comparisons.
Quick Comparison of Barcode Types Supported on DI900/DI950
Barcode 3 of 9 (Code 39)
Characters Both letters and numbers
Expressed
Bases Up to Base 43. For example,
Supported if two characters (bytes) of the
bar code were reserved for
wrap-around sequence count-
ing in base 43, you could count
up to 1849 (43 x 43).
Space Used If using counting functionality,
on Page Code39 is more efficient in its
representation (see above)
– hence, it may be smaller than
I 2 of 5.
Readability Code 39 is normally more
robust for readability than
standard I 2 of 5 (due to the
fact that Code 39 uses start
and stop characters, which
helps the system detects partial
scans).
Generated in Yes
PB FIRST?
Interleaved 2 of 5 (I2 of 5)
Numbers only
Limited to Base 10 (standard dec-
imal). For example, if two charac-
ters (bytes) of the bar code were
reserved for wrap-around se-
quence counting, in base 10, you
could count up to 100 (10 x 10).
You would need to program more
elements of the barcode to attain
a similar number as one created
in 3 of 9. This means you would
either have to use more elements
of the barcode for other integrity
functions (thereby making the
barcode longer when printed on a
page), or forsake other functions
(if you are maxed out on barcode
elements).
If expressing just numbers, I 2 of
5 may be more efficient in its rep-
resentation and may be smaller
than 3 of 9.
DI900/DI950 software tries to
compensate for the I 2 of 5 sym-
bology-related weakness for
readability so errors are caught as
nearly as often as Code 39.
No
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