science | May 28, 2026

What is a Code 39 bar code?

Code 39 is a common barcode type used for various labels such as name badges, inventory and industrial applications. The symbology of the Code 39 character set consists of barcode symbols representing numbers 0-9, upper-case letters A-Z, the space character and the following symbols: – . $ / + %.

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Considering this, what is the difference between a Code 39 and Code 128 barcode?

The main difference between Code 39 and Code 128 – as you can see from the example images above – is that Code 128 has a much higher data density than Code 39. Note: Code 128 and Code 39 should not be used for products that are for sale in retail stores (retail products need EAN barcodes).

Additionally, what is a Codabar barcode? Codabar is a linear barcode symbology developed in 1972 by Pitney Bowes Corp. Codabar was designed to be accurately read even when printed on dot-matrix printers for multi-part forms such as FedEx airbills and blood bank forms, where variants are still in use as of 2007.

Similarly, it is asked, how long can a Code 39 barcode be?

Code 39 is restricted to 43 characters. In Full ASCII Code 39 Symbols 0-9, A-Z, ".", "-" and space are the same as their representations in Code 39. Lower case letters, additional punctuation characters and control characters are represented by sequences of two characters of Code 39.

How do you add code 39 in Word?

  1. Open a new Word document and go to "Mailings" tab.
  2. Click "Select Recipients" -> "Use Existing List" or "Type New List".
  3. Generate a Code 39 barcode in the Word document.
  4. Revise the parameters of the barcode if necessary.
  5. Click "Finish & Merge" to edit, print or email your documents.
Related Question Answers

Can Excel generate barcodes?

Inserting a Single Barcode into Microsoft Excel Position the mouse cursor in a cell. Select the barcode type (e.g. Code 128). Enter the barcode data or use the default data for the selected barcode. Adjust the size of the barcode (width, height, module width etc).

What is Code 39 Full Ascii?

Code 39 - Full ASCII. The Code 39 - Full ASCII symbology is an extension of the original Code 39 (Code 39 - Regular) symbology that enables encoding of all 128 ASCII characters. The barcode reader that is used to scan the barcode must be configured to perform Full ASCII character translations.

How do I use code 39 in Excel?

Switch to "Add-Ins" tab in Excel and click "Insert Barcode" to activate barcode setting panel. Select a cell for Code 39 barcode generation. Choose "Code39" symbology, enter valid data, and click "Insert". Revise default property values in the setting panel then click "Insert" button.

Is there a barcode font in Word?

Free Barcode Font It's a widely used barcode standard used across the industry. The fonts Includes numbers, capital letters, symbols and can be used by most windows and Macintosh software like Word, Excel and WordPad etc.

How do I identify a barcode?

The first six numbers of the barcode is the manufacturer's identification number. The next five digits represent the item's number. The last number is called a check digit which enables the scanner to determine if the barcode was scanned correctly.

Can you use letters in barcodes?

Code 39 barcodes are alphanumeric (letters and numbers) symbols that can be of variable lenghth and can be used with or without human-readable characters above or below the bars. Full ASCII Code 39 barcodes can encode both uppercase and lowercase letters but are twice as wide as standard Code 39 barcodes.

How many types of barcodes are there?

The Main Types of Barcodes
  • Numeric-only barcodes.
  • Alpha-numeric barcodes.
  • 2-dimensional barcodes.

What information can you put in a barcode?

In 2D and larger barcodes you can pretty much put in whatever information you like. Name, Address, Tracking Number, Quantity, Website etc. A barcode reader is nothing more than a keyboard replacement and barcodes can have data that tells the keyboard to go to the next field and input more information.

What is the most common barcode?

Commonly used 1D barcodes are:
  • EAN-13 and EAN-8.
  • UPC-A and UPC-E.
  • Code128.
  • ITF-14.
  • Code39.

What is the most common barcode font?

PCL Fonts:
Symbology PCL LaserJet Soft Fonts .sfp
GS1 UPC/EAN Provided in 12, 16, 20 and 28 point bitmap sizes.
Interleaved 2 of 5 Provided in 10, 14, 20 and 28 point bitmap sizes.
MSI Plessey Provided in 5, 7.4, 9.8, 12.2 and 17 point bitmap sizes.
Royal Mail 4 State Provided in 300 and 600 dpi versions.

Can barcode scanners read all barcodes?

The common laser barcode scanner reads codes by reflecting light from the black and white lines of a barcode and since the laser is a single line it only reads horizontally across the barcode. Since 2D barcodes data are organized vertically and horizontally only an imager can properly decode all the information.

Does code 128 have a check digit?

What is the Code 128 check digit? Code 128 barcodes must have a mandatory mod 103 check digit in them. The Code 128 check digit is at the end of the input data, before the stop bars. A Code 128 barcode's check digit is based on a value associated with each Code 128 character.

How many characters is a 128 barcode?

The Code 128 barcode is a high-density linear symbology that encodes text, numbers, numerous functions and the entire 128 ASCII character set (from ASCII 0 to ASCII 128.) It is commonly used for several implementations; and is also referred to as ISBT-128, GS1-128, UCC-128, EAN-128 and USS Code 128.

What are Code 128 barcodes used for?

Code 128 is a high-density linear barcode symbology defined in ISO/IEC 15417:2007. It is used for alphanumeric or numeric-only barcodes. It can encode all 128 characters of ASCII and, by use of an extension symbol (FNC4), the Latin-1 characters defined in ISO/IEC 8859-1.

What is barcode symbology?

The mapping between messages and barcodes is called a symbology. The specification of a symbology includes the encoding of the single digits/characters of the message, as well as the start and stop markers into bars and space; the size of the “quiet zone” before and after the barcode; and the computation of a checksum.

What is the standard barcode format?

The Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode is used in the retail industry. UPC-A consists of 12 numbers. UPC-E consists of 12 numbers that are compressed into 8 numbers for small packages. The European Article Numbering System (EAN) is a superset of U.P.C.

Where is the UPC code?

Universal Product Code. The Universal Product Code (UPC) (redundantly: UPC code) is a barcode symbology that is widely used in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries for tracking trade items in stores.

What is a 3 of 9 barcode?

The 3 of 9 barcode font is a TrueType font used in many applications to create barcodes for scanning. A description of this font is found here. If it is present on your workstation, it can be customarily found under the C:WindowsFonts folder.

Can barcodes contain special characters?

Note 1: Codabar bar codes can begin and end with character A,B,C,D. Note 2: Code 128 and UCC/EAN-128 bar codes can contain special non-ASCII characters, such as <FNC1>, from the Code 128 character set.