"Bar codes using fonts? Why not as a graphic?"
If you look at a barcode, what do you see? A picture or text? When most of us look at a barcode we "see" a picture, an image.
When we see a barcode we see a chunk of text formatted in a symbol font. To us, barcodes are text blocks created using barcode fonts. Think of a barcode as a word made up of letters. Those letters happen to be bars and spaces. Combine those letters in the right sequence and you get a scannable barcode symbol.Barcode fonts have some distinct advantages:
- text requires no storage, graphics files take up disk space
- manipulating text is fast and well-suited for large batch runs
- text works with any application, compatibility is never a issue
- text works across platforms; Windows, Mac, UNIX, Linux, etc.
- fonts can be woven into most work processes
- fonts print at full resolution on any printer
Barcode fonts can be used from with your existing spreadsheets and databases. They create and print barcodes dynamicly on the fly.
Sometimes you do need to create a barcode as a graphic. If so, make sure to choose your file format carefully. A low-res GIF or JPG may be suitable as a "picture" on a web site but it shouldn't be used for camera-ready artwork. You want to create a high-resolution graphic image that can be scanned reliably.If you need a barcode in graphic format, use an uncompressed EPS or PDF file. PDF files can be imported into many types of applications like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. You can also make a PDF of a barcode and pass it on to someone else confident that it will display and print on their machine just as it does on yours.
So now when you see a bar code somewhere, think to yourself "That's text in a barcode font I'm looking at."