|
Frequently Asked Questions
|
[ Back ] [ Next ] |
Bar Code Symbologies
Question: What is the difference between the major bar code
symbologies?
Answer: There are many different types of bar codes. Each uses
a series of varying width bars and spaces to encode numbers and/or letters
and/or special characters. Some bar code symbologies were designed to
encode only numbers while others can encode numbers, letters and even special
computer control characters.
Symbology |
Character Set |
Number of Bars and Spaces Per Character |
U.P.C. |
Numbers Only |
2 bars, 2 spaces |
EAN |
Numbers Only |
2 bars, 2 spaces |
Interleaved 2 of 5 |
Numbers Only |
5 bars or 5 spaces |
Code 39 |
Numbers and Letters |
5 bars, 4 spaces |
Code 128 |
Numbers and Letters and special characters |
3 bars, 3 spaces |
Different bar code symbologies are to bar code as typefaces
are to human readable text. Changing the typeface does not change the content of
the message. Today’s bar code readers can easily be configured to
automatically read different symbologies in the same way a person can
automatically distinguish between TIMES and COURIER typefaces.
|