Create and Print SICI & SISAC Barcodes
The
SISAC (Serials Industry Systems Advisory Committee) is used to identify
specific portions of serial publications such as articles or journals
using a host of location data including the ISSN, date of publication,
issue volume & number and more. To create a SISAC barcode, the SICI
code must be encoded into a Code 128 Barcode. This tutorial will take
you through the process of creating a SISAC barcode using the
IDAutomation Barcode
Image Generator software.
The SISAC barcode is created by encoding the SICI (Serial Item and
Contribution Identifier) into a Code 128 barcode. For easier creation,
the SICI can be broken up into several parts:
Section |
Field Size in Digits |
Data Contained in Section |
| ISSN Number |
9 (with hyphen) |
ex: 1234-5678 |
| Date of Publication |
6 |
ex: December 12, 1996 = 199612 |
| Volume & Number |
At least 1 (with semicolon) |
ex: Volume 17 = 17; |
| Standard Version Number |
1 |
1= version Z39.56-1991 2=version Z39.56-1996 |
| Code 128 Check Digit |
1 |
Auto-calculated with Barcode Image Generator |
A basic SICI code will appear as 1537-002X
(200701)17;1-0
Generating SISAC barcodes requires a Code 128 barcode. The
Barcode Image Generator
software is used to create the SISAC barcode in this tutorial, although
in other cases it may be better to use IDAutomation's
Code 128 Barcode
Fonts. If other types of barcode automation are preferred, IDAutomation
offers a variety of barcode
font tools, components and stand-alone applications for this exact
purpose.
Because
manually calculating a Code 128 check digit can be complicated,
IDAutomation offers a
free online
barcode font encoder that automatically calculates the Mod103 check
digit for Code 128 in addition to several other symbologies. The Barcode
Image Generator used in this tutorial contains a useful capability that
allows automatic check digit calculation simply by checking the
appropriate box.
The step-by-step process to create a SISAC barcode using the
Barcode Image Generator
is as follows:
- Install the
Barcode Image Generator.
- Open the Image Generator. Under the Barcode Properties
tab in the Data to Encode in Barcode field, enter the SICI
code. The last digit of the SICI is a check digit; which is automatically
encoded with the Barcode Image Generator when the "Use Check
Digit" check box is populated.
Choose 0.90 for the Bar Height and .025 for the X dimension.
Choose CODE128 for the Symbology.
- In the Text & Color Properties tab, make sure the
Show Human Readable Text and Show Check Digit in Text
check boxes are populated:
- In the Caption Properties tab, click the set button for
the Upper Caption Font and select the font of your choice:
- In the Image Properties tab, choose the resolution of
the image (if unsure, select 300) and select Bitmap for the image
type.
- Choose Generate Image File and save the image to the
hard drive. The SISAC barcode is now ready to be imported and placed
in the appropriate location. If it is desired to create multiple
labels, this same process may be used with
IDAutomation's
Barcode Label Software.
When the Code 128 barcode of the SICI number is scanned to create
a SISAC barcode, the data should equal the numbers printed below the
barcode on the publication. A common method of
reading and testing barcodes is with a hand-held
barcode scanner.
Most of the barcode scanners recommended by IDAutomation perform keyboard
emulation and receive power from the USB port, so that no external power
supply is required. When a barcode is scanned using keyboard emulation,
the data read appears at the cursor as if it had been typed in from
the keyboard. Most barcode scanners have the ability to read SISAC or
Code 128 barcodes by default, such as the hand-held
IDAutomation USB Barcode Scanner.
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