Microcom 438T Operator's Manual page 155

Chapter 8
8.1.21 Planet Code, TCI 49
The Planet (Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique) Code is designed to track both
inbound and outbound letter mail for the United States Postal Service. The Planet barcode
was required by the USPS to use their Confirm service but has since been replaced by the
Intelligent Mail Barcode.
The Confirm is a 12 digit barcode with the following structure:
- The first two digits represent the service (21 = Origin Confirm or 22 = Destination
Confirm)
- The next nine digits identify the mail
th
- The 12 digit is a check sum that helps USPS detect errors.
The D176 command is used to receive and process the USPS planet code. After the
^D176<CR> is issued, it must be followed by a 2 sets of ASCII digits terminated by
<CR><LF>. The first set consists of a single digit field used to select barcode rotation with
the following values:
0 = 0 degree rotation
1 = 180 degree counter clockwise rotation.
2 = 90 degree counter clockwise rotation.
3 = 270 degree counter clockwise rotation.
The second set of ASCII digits contains a valid planet code string with a <CR> as a
terminator.
The PLANET Code is a 12 -or 14- digit barcode. All PLANET Codes include a check-sum
digit or correction character. This digit must always be the single-digit number (i.e., 0–9)
which, when added to the sum of the other digits in the barcode, results in a whole number
that is a multiple of 10.
Once the planet code barcode data is entered and processed, the barcode image can be
placed using the normal format field by using a TCI of 49.
Command Syntax:
^D176
Rotation
Planet Code String
EXAMPLE:
^D176
3 <------------------------------------ Rotation parameter
1234567890123 <---------------- Planet Code data
^D57
1,832,2000,0,0,08,2,1,,0,0
1,400,400,1,49,,,4,12,3 <------- Placement information
^D56
^D2
.
^D3
438T Operator's Manual - 880051-0102
Bar Codes
8-19