| How to use VersaBar:
1. Input the string that you wish to encode.
2. Choose the barcode type from the drop down list.
3. Select "Allow full Scalling". This will make it easier
for the barcode reader to pick the barcode
4. Paste into desired Win32 Application.
PDF417 Allows for all alpha-numeric
characters. Here you can choose the number of "Rows",
"Columns" and "EC level" (Error Correction Level)
You can learn about 2 Dimensional barcoding with PDF417 in a special
section at the bottom of this page.
Fonts This area is just like any
other Windows font interface. You can select the type, size, style
and effects here.
Colors This area is for selecting
the background and system colors.
About PDF417- 2 Dimensional
Barcodes
Large amounts of text and data can be stored securely
and inexpensively when using the PDF417 symbology. Up to 1100 bytes
or 1800 ASCII characters can be encoded in a PDF417 symbol. The
printed symbol consists of several linear rows of stacked codewords.
Each codeword represents 1 of 929 possible values from one of three
different clusters. A different cluster is chosen for each row,
repeating after every three rows. Because the codewords in each
cluster are unique, scanners are able to determine what line each
cluster is from when it is scanned.
PDF417 Error Correction & Levels
PDF417 uses Reed Solomon error correction instead
of check digits. This error correction allows the symbol to withstand
some damage without causing loss of data. This high level of error
correction is far more advanced than linear barcodes with check
digits. The Reed Solomon error correction can add significantly
to the size of the PDF417 barcode but this is usually not a problem
because the barcode is two-dimensional, multi-row and can be printed
at very small x dimensions.
AIM standards recommend a minimum error correction level of 2. The
error correction level depends on the amount of data that needs
to be encoded, the size and the amount of symbol damage that could
occur. The error correction levels range from 0 to 8. The chart
below indicates the number of error correction codewords that are
added to the printed symbol and the AIM recommendation for the EC
level to use for the number of data codewords generated.
| EC Level |
0 |
 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| EC Codewords |
2 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
16 |
32 |
64 |
128 |
512 |
| AIM Recommendation |
|
|
1-40 |
41-160 |
161-320 |
321-863 |
|
|
|
X and Y Dimensions
The X dimension is the width of the narrowest bar
in a printed codeword. The Y dimension is the height of each row
within the PDF417 symbol. PDF417 is usually printed with an X to
Y ratio from 1:2 to 1:4. By changing the X to Y ratio to 1:2, a
significant amount of space can be saved. However, some scanners
cannot read X to Y ratios of less than 1:3.
Row and Column Limits
The number of rows and columns can be selected to
place the symbol in a specific form. The PDF417 symbol is limited
to 30 columns and 90 rows. When selecting columns, keep in mind
that you are only selecting the number of data columns in the symbol.
The normal PDF417 symbol has two row start columns and two row stop
columns. Truncated PDF417 contains only two row start columns.
Available bar codes: EAN13, EAN-8, EAN-5, EAN-2,
UPC-A, UPC-E, Code39, Code39 Ext, Code 128, Code 128 A, Code 128
B, Code128 C, EAN-128, ISSN, ISBN, Codebar, Interleaved 2 of 5,
Code 25, PostNet, Post2/5, Code 93, PDF417 and more |
