The easiest and best way to print bar codes from an Access database is
to use a good quality bar code ActiveX control that produces a vector
graphic image of a bar code instead of using a bar code font. Bar code
fonts generally produce low quality bar codes that can be difficult to
read and they also require you to manipulate the data that you need to
encode before applying the font. For example, with a Code 39 font you
need to add asterisks at the beginning and end of the data that you
want to encode. With other bar code symbologies, the job gets much
more complicated because special checksums must be calculated and in
many cases, a complex algorithm must be applied to the data first.
Anyhow, your life will be greatly simplified by using a bar code
ActiveX control. Your bar codes will also be much higher quality.
Basically they work exactly like a textbox control in your reports
except that instead of seeing text, you will see a bar code. The
checksums, start and stop codes and any other algorithms that need to
be applied to the data are all taken care of by the ActiveX Control so
all you need to do is drop the control on the report, set a few simple
properties and print your reports.
If the ActiveX control generates a vector graphic image, it will also
be completely device independent meaning that you should get perfect
bar codes that read quickly and easily no matter what printer you
print them on. Be careful when selecting a bar code ActiveX control
because some of them use bar code fonts or generate bitmaps to produce
the bar code image. Fonts and bitmaps tend to produce poor quality
output that can be highly dependent on the printer that you print to.
The best bar code ActiveX control that I know of is the one from TAL
Technologies
http://www.taltech.com/products/activex_barcodes.html
I would recommend that you download their demo version and give it a
try. The demo is fully functional and it also comes with a sample
Access database that shows exactly how to use it in an Access database
application.
