Barcodes Code - 128 Help

[Lester Mosley]

I am trying to print a barcode in the 128 code. Though it seems the
public domain/GPL ones of the truetype do not print a scanable barcode.


Is there any suggestions... Or if anyone can point me into the right
direction on how to do this or point me in direction of one that will
work with access or excel 2000 or 2003. Much appreciated.


Or help me figure out WHY it isnt producing a readable one in 128..

 

[David McRitchie]

Hi Lester,
Perhaps the problem is with the resolution on your printer.
Try printing the barcode larger. Perhaps even turn off print to fit under
print, page setup.

 

[Brendan Reynolds]

We had similar problems with freeware fonts, but I have seen posts from
others who used freeware fonts successfully, so it may be that we were just
unlucky, and you may simply need to keep looking for a better quality font.

We gave up on the freeware fonts and bought fonts from IDAutomation
(www.idautomation.com). They're not free, but they do work.

 

[Lester Mosley]

I have tried this.. Using Excel and access. Using a truetype public
domain font
I am using a Zebra Termal printer as well.

Use 3of9 and it pronts the bardcode fine and readable.

Any other sugestions?

 

[Fred Boer]

Dear Lester:

Does the barcode need any special characters? 3of9 needs asterisks before
and after the number. Is something similar needed for your barcode? Maybe it
isn't a printing issue, but a formatting issue... A very quick google search
pulled up this page:

http://www.makebarcode.com/specs/code_128.html I see that there is Access
VBA code to create a barcode checksum...

Maybe its some sort of checksum issue?

HTH
Fred Boer

 

[Thomas Lutz]

Code 128 is a fairly complex bar code symbology that can encode data
in a number of different ways and it alsu requires special start and
stop patterns as well as a calculated check digit. You cannot simply
select some text in a document, change its font to a Code 128 bar code
font and expect to get a readable bar code. You need to first
calculate and append the checksum character as well as add the start
and stop codes. Bar code fonts also generally produce very poor
quality bar codes that can be difficult to scan.
You will find it much easier to use a bar code ActiveX control that
takes care of all the messy details for you instead of trying to use a
font. The best bar code ActiveX control on the market is available at
http://www.taltech.com/products/activex_barcodes.html
There is a demo version that you can download from the above URL with
samples for Access, Excel, Word, VB, C++ and Internet Explorer.
It's not free but with bar code software, you get what you pay for.

 

[info2]

I am trying to print a barcode in the 128 code. Though it seems the
public domain/GPL ones of the truetype do not print a scanable barcode.

Bar code 128 has well over 100 characters in- more than show up on your
keyoard. In addition, you have to add Start codes, calculate a
checksum, and add a Stop code to each bar code you want to make. Do you
have a chart with the character mapping for your free font?

Building bar code 128 requires software. You need a full bar code 128
package- try the one below, there's a free trial verison:

http://www.barcodingfonts.com/bar128.htm

The full version costs $99.