Barcode Frequently Asked Questions
What barcode types are there?Which barcode type do I need?
What is a UPC barcode?
What is in a UPC barcode?
What is a Code 128 barcode?
What is in a Code 128 barcode?
What is a Code 39 barcode?
What is an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode?
What is in an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode?
What is an ISBN-13 barcode?
What is in an ISBN-13 barcode? What is a POSTNET barcode?
What is in a POSTNET barcode?
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Office applications?
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Word?
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Excel?
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Access?
How do I create one barcode at a time?
How do I create barcodes in batches?
What is UPCTools?
What is C128Tools?
What is C39Tools?
What is I2of5Tools?
What is POSTools?
What is UPCTools?
What barcode types are there?
There are as many barcode types as the day is long! Called ‘symbologies’, there are barcode types for shipping, for retail, for mailing, for inventory, for asset tracking, for the medical industry, for recording small snippets of information and for containing loads and loads of data. There are compact, linear, 1D (one dimensional) symbologies, and denser, more complex 2D (two dimensional) symbologies.
Some common 1D symbologies:
Code 128
Code 39
EAN
Interleaved 2 of 5
ISBN-13 (Bookland)
OCR-A/OCR-B
POSTNET
UPC
Less common 1D symbologies:
Codabar
MSI-Plessey
MICR
Code 93
RSS
2D symbologies:
PDF417
DataMatrix
QR
Which barcode type do I need?
First, take a look at your project. What do you want the barcodes to do?
Do you need to barcode your retail products? You’ll need a UPC barcode in North America, possibly an EAN or JAN internationally. The standards body, GS1, is the place to start.
Is your product a book? You’ll need an ISBN-13. The ISBN Agency is the place to start.
Do you need to meet a trade partner’s shipping specification? It may require a Code 128 or an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode. Read their spec carefully for instructions. Not clear? Call your trade partner rep and ask for specifics. Still not clear? Contact us!
Do you need barcodes for in-house inventory or asset management? A Code 39 or a Code 128 barcode may suit your needs.
Do you need barcodes on ID badges, reports or documents? For alpha-numeric data you might need a Code 39 or a Code 128 barcode.
Do you need to barcode zip codes for mailing? POSTNET is the symbology you need.
Do you want the barcode to hold a large amount of data? A PDF417 or DataMatrix barcode might suit your needs.
What is a UPC barcode?
UPC barcodes (Universal Product Code bar codes) are numbers-only symbols used on items in the retail channel. UPC barcodes get scanned at the cash register as part of a POS (point of sale) system. They contain unique numbers that identify one product from another.
What is in a UPC barcode?
UPC barcodes have three segments: a company prefix unique to each manufacturer, an individual product number, and a check digit.
Where do I get UPC numbers? Can I make them up? GS1 US is the standards body that administers the unique company numbers required for creating UPC barcodes. There’s no way to fudge a UPC. No barcode at all is better than a UPC created with made-up numbers.
What is a Code 128 barcode?
Code 128 is a popular 1D bar code symbology used for identification, inventory, and tracking purposes. A Code 128 barcode is used by the shipping industry, in distribution, and throughout the global supply chain. Code 128 bar codes are alphanumeric (letters, numbers, or letters and numbers).
What is in a Code 128 barcode?
Exactly what is in your Code 128 barcode is determined by which of the three code sets you choose. The three code sets all encode different character sets.
Code set C is numbers only. Code set A has no lower case letters. Code set B includes lowercase and upper case letters, numbers, a wide range of punctuation, and other characters.
What is a Code 39 barcode?
Code 39 barcodes, sometimes called ‘Code 3 of 9’ barcodes, are industry standard bar codes used for inventory and tracking purposes. Code 39 barcodes are alphanumeric (letters, numbers, or letters and numbers) symbols that can be of variable length and can be used with or without human-readable characters above or below the bars.
What is in a Code 39 barcode?
Almost any item, account, ID, tracking or inventory number can be encoded in a Code 30 barcode.
The standard 44 character version of Code 39 supports the uppercase letters A-Z, the numbers 0-9, several math-related punctuation marks ( $ % + -. / ), and the space character. Full ASCII Code 39 bar codes encode the lower 128 ASCII characters including upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and full punctuation. Full ASCII symbols use pairs of characters to represent characters outside of the default Code 39 character set.
What is an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode?
Interleaved 2 of 5 is one of the oldest and most popular numbers-only bar code symbologies. Sometimes called ‘ITF’, or ‘I 2 of 5’ barcodes, they’re widely used in distribution and shipping. I2 of 5 bar codes are used on corrugated boxes, cartons and pallets. They're also utilized in the medical industry and in laboratories.
What is in an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode?
Many inventory, tracking, ID and shipping numbers can be encoded in an Interleaved 2 of 5 barcode. All I2of5 barcodes encode even digit strings, making it a very compact symbology. Each pair of numbers is represented by only one character.
What is an ISBN-13 barcode?
Numbers-only, ISBN-13 barcodes are based on a book's ISBN (International Standard Book Number). Found on the back of book covers or the inside cover of mass-market paperbacks, ISBN-13s uniquely identify books and book-like products published internationally. In the US, ISBN-13 bar codes are assigned by the United States ISBN Agency.
What is in an ISBN-13 barcode? ISBN-13s contain each book or book-like product’s unique International Standard Book Number. Human-readable digits are usually printed below the bars themselves. In most cases, ISBN-13s are followed by a ‘supplemental’ barcode which contains information about the product’s price.
What is a POSTNET barcode?
A POSTNET barcode is a numbers-only symbology used in mailing.
What is in a POSTNET barcode?
POSTNET barcodes are used on postcards and letters below the city/state/ZIP line. POSTNET barcodes use patterns of tall and short bars to represent the numbers in a ZIP code. The ZIP code can be a 5-digit ZIP code, a 9-digit ZIP+4, or an 11-digit Delivery Point Barcode.
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Office applications?
Using Azalea barcode software you can create barcodes within Access, Excel, Word, and any other labeling, document or design application.
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Word?
Open your Azalea software tool, enter your data and preview your barcode. Choose ‘copy’, go to your Word label or document template, paste. Format into a barcode font via the drop-down font menu. Voila!
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Excel?
Call Azalea barcode software from within your Excel spreadsheet and turn columns of raw data into barcodes in a few simple steps. We have helpful screen shot walk-throughs for using our products within Excel here.
How do I create barcodes in Microsoft Access?
Azalea barcode software gives you a sample database that makes barcoding within your Access project quick and easy. You’ll find simple, step-by-step instructions here.
How do I create one barcode at a time?
Open your Azalea software tool, enter your data and preview your barcode. Choose ‘print’ to send the barcode directly to a printer. You also have the option of copying from the tool and pasting your barcode into any text, document, labeling or design application.
How do I create barcodes in batches?
It’s as simple as opening your Access database or Excel spreadsheet. Our screen shots, walk-throughs and free technical support will have you batch-barcoding like a pro in no time at all.
What is UPCTools?
UPCTools is font software that helps you quickly create UPC, EAN, ISBN-13 or ISSN barcodes one at a time using the UPCTools wizard, or in large batches through database programs like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and other programs.
What is C128Tools?
C128Tools is font software that helps you quickly create Code 128, UCC128, EAN-128 or SSCC-128 barcodes one at a time using the C128Tools wizard, or in large batches through database programs like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and other programs. C128Tools comes with 5 different code 128 fonts, ranging from very narrow to very wide.
What is C39Tools?
C39Tools is font software that helps you quickly create Code 39 barcodes one at a time using the C39Tools wizard, or in large batches through database programs like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and other programs. C39Tools includes 27 different Code 39 barcode fonts. Switching among the individual fonts allows you to change the width and density of a bar code without changing its height. C39Tools also includes an OCR-B font for the optional human-readable characters above or below the bar code itself.
What is I2of5Tools?
I2of5Tools is font software that helps you quickly create Interleaved 2 of 5, ITF-14, EAN-14, SCC-14, or DUN14 barcodes one at a time using the I2of5Tools wizard, or in large batches through database programs like Microsoft Excel and other programs.
What is POSTools?
POSTools is font software that helps you quickly create POSTNET ZIP code barcodes one at a time using the POSTools wizard, or in large batches through database programs like Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access and other programs.