BarCodes

[Bob Rasmussen]

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 lcgray at comcast.net wrote:

> Sometime back there was some discussion about printing barcodes from
> filepro.  At the time I didn't need to do that but now I do.  Could any
> one tell me how this is done?

Let me see if I can recap a bit.

First, your data requirements will help determine the barcode format that
you want. Some can do numeric only; some are full alphanumeric. Some have
calculated check digits that make them more difficult to produce. And of
course, your readers have to understand the format you're printing.

If you're sending barcodes outside your location, where others will read
them, you'll need to match their specs. For instance Postal Service
barcodes or UPS codes. UPS uses (in some situations) "2-D" barcodes, which
are newer, contain more data, and are not generally embedded in a printer.

Then there are three general approaches:

1) A printer (or a cartridge added to a printer) may have some barcodes
built in, that can be selected with a certain escape code (often related
to font selection). There may be variations on the escape code to set
different dimensions and other characteristics of the barcode produce.

2) Find and purchase a "soft" barcode font file, compatible with your
printer (such as PCL). You will need software to load this font into your
printer. Then selecting it will work like 1) above.

Note that in both these approaches, you may need to do some character
substitution, such as if you want to include a space in the barcode. Note
also that you might need to calculate and feed a check digit if you want
one to print.

3) Use a software program to generate the barcode. Our Print Wizard
program is an example here. With markup language (derived from a
printcode) you tell the program what kind of barcode, what data, and other
relevant parameters. The program constructs the barcode out of rectangles,
and can do so on any printer.

Hope this helps. Of course it is only an overview.

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com