|
Home: Products: Barcode Fonts: Code 39 Barcode Fonts: |
|
INDEX:
Code 39 Symbology Information |
Code 39 (also called Code 3 of 9) is an easy to print barcode commonly used for various bar-coding labels such as name badges, inventory and industrial applications. The symbology of the Code 39 character set consists of bar code symbols representing uppercase letters, numbers, the space character and the following symbols: - . $ / + %. The Code 39 barcode is the easiest to use of alpha-numeric barcodes and is designed for character self-checking, eliminating the requirement for check character calculations. For more information about Code 39, please refer to the Code 39 FAQ.
Code 39 Font Advantage Package Features |
Code 39 Font Specifications and Font Name Descriptions |
The X dimension (X is the width of the narrow bar) is listed below for various point sizes. The narrow to wide ratio is 3:1 which is recommended by international standards. IDAutomation also offers the Universal Barcode Font Advantage™ which is designed to support most linear barcodes as a single font on multiple operating systems and locales. This Universal Font can provide wide to narrow ratios of 2:1, 2.5:1 and 3:1.
Point Size |
Approximate X dimension (1 mil = .001") |
|
48 | .102 cm | 40 mil |
36 | .076 cm | 30 mil |
32 | .069 cm | 27 mil |
30 | .064 cm | 25 mil |
28 | .058 cm | 23 mil |
24 | .051 cm | 20 mil |
20 | .043 cm | 17 mil |
18 | .038 cm | 15 mil |
16 | .033 cm | 13 mil |
12 | .025 cm | 10 mil |
8 | .018 cm | 7 mil |
6 | .013 cm | 5 mil |
* To print at a different X dimension, find the point size that
has the X dimension closest to what is needed and use this formula to find the
point size needed: |
NOTICE: When using a printer with less than 600 DPI, the following point sizes should be used to create accurate barcodes:
203 DPI Printer (thermal printer) | 300 DPI Printer |
6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36... | 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36... |
24 different versions of the Code 39 barcode fonts are provided to support human readable versions and different width and height requirements. The last character in the Code 39 barcode font name determines the height of the barcode with the shortest being "XS" and the tallest being "XXL". Because each single font can be printed at various point sizes, there are several combinations of heights that can be produced.
Font name of purchased version | Font name of eval version* | Font height at 12 points* |
Code 3 of 9 Fonts with text below the barcode: | ||
IDAutomationHC39XS | IDAutomationSHC39XS | .20" or .5 CM |
IDAutomationHC39S | IDAutomationSHC39S | .35" or .9 CM |
IDAutomationHC39M | IDAutomationSHC39M | .50" or 1.2 CM |
IDAutomationHC39L | IDAutomationSHC39L | .70" or 1.8 CM |
IDAutomationHC39XL | IDAutomationSHC39XL | .90" or 2.3 CM |
IDAutomationHC39XXL | IDAutomationSHC39XXL | 1.25" or 3.2 CM |
Code 3 of 9 Fonts with no text below the barcode: | ||
IDAutomationC39XS | IDAutomationSC39XS | .20" or .5 CM |
IDAutomationC39S | IDAutomationSC39S | .35" or .9 CM |
IDAutomationC39M | IDAutomationSC39M | .50" or 1.2 CM |
IDAutomationC39L | IDAutomationSC39L | .70" or 1.8 CM |
IDAutomationC39XL | IDAutomationSC39XL | .90" or 2.3 CM |
IDAutomationC39XXL | IDAutomationSC39XXL | 1.25" or 3.2 CM |
Extended Code 3 of 9 Fonts with text below the barcode: | ||
IDAutomationXHC39XS | .20" or .5 CM | |
IDAutomationXHC39S | .35" or .9 CM | |
IDAutomationXHC39M | IDAutomationSXHC39M | .50" or 1.2 CM |
IDAutomationXHC39L | .70" or 1.8 CM | |
IDAutomationXHC39XL | .90" or 2.3 CM | |
IDAutomationXHC39XXL | 1.25" or 3.2 CM | |
Extended Code 3 of 9 Fonts with no text below the barcode: | ||
IDAutomationXC39XS | .20" or .5 CM | |
IDAutomationXC39S | .35" or .9 CM | |
IDAutomationXC39M | .50" or 1.2 CM | |
IDAutomationXC39L | .70" or 1.8 CM | |
IDAutomationXC39XL | .90" or 2.3 CM | |
IDAutomationXC39XXL | 1.25" or 3.2 CM | |
* Measurements are approximate and were
measured when printed at 12 points which should work for most scanners.
Measurements for Human Readable fonts do not include the text below.
At 12 points, the X dimension is about 10 mils. To print at a
different height, find the font that has the height closest to what
is needed or use this formula to find the point size to print the
font at to get that height: |
Font Installation Instructions |
NOTICE: When printing the barcode fonts at less than 12 points, a high quality printer with a 600 DPI or greater resolution should be used; it may also be necessary to reduce the print intensity if you have increased this in the past to a value greater than normal.
If you need to print barcodes smaller than 12 points with a 203 DPI printer, it is recommended you print at point sizes 4, 8 or 12 to create a high quality barcode. For a 300 DPI printer, it is recommended you print at point sizes 2.8, 5.5, 8 or above.
To install the TrueType fonts in Windows, run the INSTALL.EXE program or perform the following for manual installation:
To install the TrueType font on the Classic Macintosh (OS 7.1 - OS 9):
Font installation procedures for other operating systems
Extended Character Set Fonts and Information |
Extended Code 39 allows encoding of the Full ASCII Character Set with the Code 3 of 9 symbology. For the scanner to properly decode Code 3 of 9 extended characters, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9. Extended Code 39 is useful if tabs, returns or lower case letters need to be encoded.
There are 2 methods of creating extended Code 3 of 9 barcodes with IDAutomation fonts.
IDAutomation recommends using Code 128 or PDF417 for purposes of encoding a large amount of extended characters because Code 39 is inefficient in extended mode and the barcodes can become quite long.
To create a barcode that scans in 1234 and then a return function, !1234$M! would need to be printed. These can be combined also, as an example !12$I34$M! prints the barcode that scans 12, a tab, then 34 and a return. Refer to the Full ASCII Chart for other codes. For the extended characters to scan properly, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9.
Extended Code 39 fonts are provided with IDAutomation's Code 39 Barcode Font Advantage Package. IDAutomation has created these fonts for convenience when it is necessary to print some of the extended characters as they are on the keyboard. The extended fonts are not compatible with IDAutomation's font automation tools and the asterisk must be used as the start and stop character. For extended characters to scan properly, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9.
The ExtC39 Character column lists the character that resides at the ASCII location which can be used to print the corresponding symbol. The "Symbol Scans As" column lists the character that the scanner will read when it is in extended mode. The ASCII and Unicode columns designate the location in either ASCII or Unicode where the barcode symbol for the character resides.
ExtC39 Character |
Symbol Scans As | ASCII * | Unicode * | ExtC39 Character |
Symbol Scans As | ASCII * | Unicode * | |
space | na | 0032 | 0020 | P | P | 0080 | 0050 | |
! | ! | 0033 | 0021 | Q | Q | 0081 | 0051 | |
" | " | 0034 | 0022 | R | R | 0082 | 0052 | |
# | # | 0035 | 0023 | S | S | 0083 | 0053 | |
$ | control | 0036 | 0024 | T | T | 0084 | 0054 | |
% | control | 0037 | 0025 | U | U | 0085 | 0055 | |
& | & | 0038 | 0026 | V | V | 0086 | 0056 | |
' | ' | 0039 | 0027 | W | W | 0087 | 0057 | |
( | ( | 0040 | 0028 | X | X | 0088 | 0058 | |
) | ) | 0041 | 0029 | Y | Y | 0089 | 0059 | |
* | Start / Stop | 0042 | 002A | Z | Z | 0090 | 005A | |
+ | control | 0043 | 002B | [ | [ | 0091 | 005B | |
, | , | 0044 | 002C | \ | \ | 0092 | 005C | |
- | - | 0045 | 002D | ] | ] | 0093 | 005D | |
. | . | 0046 | 002E | ^ | ^ | 0094 | 005E | |
/ | control | 0047 | 002F | _ | _ | 0095 | 005F | |
0 | 0 | 0048 | 0030 | ` | ` | 0096 | 0060 | |
1 | 1 | 0049 | 0031 | a | a | 0097 | 0061 | |
2 | 2 | 0050 | 0032 | b | b | 0098 | 0062 | |
3 | 3 | 0051 | 0033 | c | c | 0099 | 0063 | |
4 | 4 | 0052 | 0034 | d | d | 0100 | 0064 | |
5 | 5 | 0053 | 0035 | e | e | 0101 | 0065 | |
6 | 6 | 0054 | 0036 | f | f | 0102 | 0066 | |
7 | 7 | 0055 | 0037 | g | g | 0103 | 0067 | |
8 | 8 | 0056 | 0038 | h | h | 0104 | 0068 | |
9 | 9 | 0057 | 0039 | i | i | 0105 | 0069 | |
: | : | 0058 | 003A | j | j | 0106 | 006A | |
; | ; | 0059 | 003B | k | k | 0107 | 006B | |
< | < | 0060 | 003C | l | l | 0108 | 006C | |
= | = | 0061 | 003D | m | m | 0109 | 006D | |
> | > | 0062 | 003E | n | n | 0110 | 006E | |
? | ? | 0063 | 003F | o | o | 0111 | 006F | |
@ | @ | 0064 | 0040 | p | p | 0112 | 0070 | |
A | A | 0065 | 0041 | q | q | 0113 | 0071 | |
B | B | 0066 | 0042 | r | r | 0114 | 0072 | |
C | C | 0067 | 0043 | s | s | 0115 | 0073 | |
D | D | 0068 | 0044 | t | t | 0116 | 0074 | |
E | E | 0069 | 0045 | u | u | 0117 | 0075 | |
F | F | 0070 | 0046 | v | v | 0118 | 0076 | |
G | G | 0071 | 0047 | w | w | 0119 | 0077 | |
H | H | 0072 | 0048 | x | x | 0120 | 0078 | |
I | I | 0073 | 0049 | y | y | 0121 | 0079 | |
J | J | 0074 | 004A | z | z | 0122 | 007A | |
K | K | 0075 | 004B | { | { | 0123 | 007B | |
L | L | 0076 | 004C | | | | | 0124 | 007C | |
M | M | 0077 | 004D | } | } | 0125 | 007D | |
N | N | 0078 | 004E | ~ | Space | 0126 | 007E | |
O | O | 0079 | 004F |
NOTE: For these extended characters to scan properly, you must first program your scanner to accept them.
The full 128 character ASCII character set can be printed in accordance with ISO 646. This may also be encoded in the Code 39 barcode font using combinations of two symbol characters made up of one of the four Code 39 characters (+ $ % / ) followed by one of the 26 Code 39 barcode alphabetic characters.
ASCII | Code 39 | ASCII | Code 39 | ASCII | Code 39 | ASCII | Code 39 | ASCII | Code 39 |
A | A | a | +A | 0 | 0 | ESC (Escape) | %A | SH (Start of Heading) | $A |
B | B | b | +B | 1 | 1 | FS (File Separator) | %B | SX (Start of Text) | $B |
C | C | c | +C | 2 | 2 | GS (Group Separator) | %C | EX (End of Text) | $C |
D | D | d | +D | 3 | 3 | RS (Record Separator) | %D | ET (End of Transmission) | $D |
E | E | e | +E | 4 | 4 | US (Unit Separator) | %E | EQ (Enquiry) | $E |
F | F | f | +F | 5 | 5 | ; | %F | AK (Acknowledge) | $F |
G | G | g | +G | 6 | 6 | < | %G | BL (Bell-Audible of Attention Signal) | $G |
H | H | h | +H | 7 | 7 | = | %H | BS (Backspace) | $H |
I | I | i | +I | 8 | 8 | > | %I | HT (Horizontal Tabulation) | $I |
J | J | j | +J | 9 | 9 | ? | %J | LF (Line Feed) | $J |
K | K | k | +K | ! | /A | [ | %K | VT (Vertical Tabulation) | $K |
L | L | l | +L | " | /B | \ | %L | FF (Form Feed) | $L |
M | M | m | +M | # | /C | ] | %M | CR (Carriage Return) | $M |
N | N | n | +N | $ | /D | ^ | %N | SO (Shift Out) | $N |
O | O | o | +O | % | /E | _ | %O | SI (Shift In) | $O |
P | P | p | +P | & | /F | { | %P | DL (Data Link Escape) | $P |
Q | Q | q | +Q | ' | /G | | | %Q | D1 (Device Control 1-XON) | $Q |
R | R | r | +R | ( | /H | } | %R | D2 (Device Control 2) | $R |
S | S | s | +S | ) | /I | ~ | %S | D3 (Device Control 3-XOFF) | $S |
T | T | t | +T | * | /J | DEL | %T | D4 (Device Control 4) | $T |
U | U | u | +U | + | /K | NU (Null) | %U | NK (Negative Acknowledge) | $U |
V | V | v | +V | , | /L | @ | %V | SY (Synchronous Idle) | $V |
W | W | w | +W | - | /M | ` | %W | EB (End of Transmission Block) | $W |
X | X | x | +X | . | /N |
SP (= or ~ in our fonts) |
SP |
CN (Cancel) | $X |
Y | Y | y | +Y | / | /O | EM (End of Medium) | $Y | ||
Z | Z | z | +Z | : | /Z | SB (Substitute) | $Z |
|
Product Quick Links: [Barcode Fonts | Font Tools | Components | Label Software | Scanners | Printers | RFID] |
Copyright © 1999-2006 IDAutomation.com, Inc. IDAutomation and BizFonts are registered trademarks of IDAutomation.com, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
Over 70% of Fortune 100 companies use our products to automate their businesses. |