CODE 39 and Codabar

CODE 39 Composition

CODE 39 is named for its pattern of bars and spaces, with 3 out of 9 bars and spaces being wide. The basic composition is as follows:

• One letter (character) is represented by 9 bars and spaces.
• Asterisks (*) are attached to the start and end of the barcode. (start/stop character)
• The space between characters is called an "inter-character gap". Generally, the gap width is as wide as the narrow bar width. (The maximum width is ruled to be 3 to 5.3 times wider than that of the narrow bar.)

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CODE 39 Character Composition

The following table shows the character composition of CODE 39.
CODE 39 can represent characters including numbers (0 to 9), alphabets and symbols (-, ., _ (space), *, $, /, +, %).

Character	Bar pattern
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
-
.
SPACE
$
/
+
%
*

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CODE 39 Features

• Since CODE 39 represents not only numbers but also letters and symbols, it allows also the item number to be represented.
• The start/stop character is an asterisk (*).
• 9 bars and spaces are used to represent one character. More bars and spaces than other codes provide more complete reading and high reliability, as well as the largest size of barcode.

When the data requires letters, CODE 39 is ideal.

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CODE 39 Applications

CODE 39 is used mainly in industrial applications.

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Codabar Composition

Codabar has 4 bars and 3 spaces (total 7 elements) with each narrow or wide width representing one character (letter).
The basic composition of Codabar is as follows:

• 7 bars and spaces represent one character.
• Any one of A, B, C or D (a, b, c or d) is attached to the start and end of the barcode.
  (start/stop character)

• Inter-character gap is the same as for CODE 39.

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Codabar Character Composition

Codabar can represent characters including numbers (0 to 9), letters (A, B, C, D) and symbols (-, $, /, ., +).

Character	Bar pattern
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
-
$
:
/
.
+
A
B
C
D

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Codabar Features

Skip reading is less likely with Codabar than with ITF. Smaller barcode size is possible compared with CODE 39.
However, it does not always mean that skip reading never happens with Codabar. If the print quality of the barcode is poor, skip reading tends to occur as shown below.

If one space is printed wider than what it should be, the character is considered to be a stop character, and the skip reading occurs.

Availability of any start/stop character combination allows versatile usage.
For example, A––––A is used for the list price, A––––C for the special discount price, and C––––C for the price at bargain sale.

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