Description; Picket Fence Barcode Orientation - Pitney Bowes FastPac DI900 Manuallines

3 • Barcode Theory
Barcode
3 of 9
Symbology
3-2

Description

Code 3 of 9, or Code 39, was the first alphanumeric symbology to be devel-
oped. It is a common bar code in warehousing and distribution. The default in
many printing applications is to generate the barcode in a "ladder" orientation
(see figure below)
Each character in a Code 3 of 9 is represented by five bars and four spaces,
making a total of nine elements. Of these nine elements, three are wide and
six are narrow. The space between characters is called the intercharacter gap.
An asterisk is used as a start code and a stop code indicating where the data
starts and ends. The start and stop codes allow the symbology to be read back-
wards and forwards. The bar code length is limited only by the label width.
Code 3 of 9 uses the full ASCII Standard of 43 characters (0-9, A-Z, $, /, %, +,
-, ' ',.).
Below is an illustration of the Code 3 of 9 symbology format for the numbers
3852.
Direction of Feed:
Barcode Code 3 of 9 (in Ladder Orientation)

Picket Fence Barcode Orientation

A barcode orientation called "picket fence" can also be generated. This is cre-
ated simply by turning the normal barcode on it side (see figure below).
A picket fence barcode can only be read by a moving beam scanner. Make
sure the customer's DI900/DI950 has the special moving beam scanner kit
installed on the High Capacity Sheet Feeder (HCSF) before implementation.
Barcode Code 3 of 9 (in Picket Fence Orientation)
or
Direction of Feed: or
SV61314 Rev. A