USPS Intelligent Mail Container Tutorial
This tutorial outlines how to create USPS Intelligent Mail (IMB) Container
Barcodes (USPS-B-3215) with IDAutomation's
Code 128 Barcode
Fonts, Barcode Label
Software and other barcode generation products. This tutorial should
be used with the USPS specification for additional formatting and placement
specifications.
- Determine the data structure, which depends upon the Mailer ID assigned
by the USPS:
6 Digit Mailer ID Structure |
|
Application Identifier |
Two digits, which is 99 |
| Type Indicator |
The letter "M" |
| Mailer ID |
The assigned 6 digit mailer ID |
| Serial Number |
A 12 digit serial number, padded with leading zeros
if less then 12 digits. |
9 Digit Mailer ID Structure |
| Application Identifier |
Two digits, which is 99 |
| Type Indicator |
The letter "M" |
| Mailer ID |
The assigned 9 digit mailer ID |
| Serial Number |
A 9 digit serial number, padded with leading zeros
if less then 9 digits. |
- Determine which product to use to generate tray labels. IDAutomation
offers easy-to-use Barcode Label
Software with VB Script, which is a stand-alone application. Additionally, IDAutomation
offers Code 128 Barcode Fonts and
Barcode Components,
which can be integrated into an existing application or print
process.
- The data from the chart above is combined to be encoded in the
GS1-128 format with an incrementing serial number. In the following
VB Script example, ~212 identifies "99" as a two digit AI and L#
increments the serial number. In this example, the serial number is starting
at 100000000 to eliminate the need to pad leading zeros, which can be
problematic.
"~21299M123456789" & 100000000 + L#
- The size of the barcode is adjusted to be within specifications:
Width: 17 MILS, which is a font size of 20 points.
Height: 0.75", which is created with the
IDAutomationC128M font.
- Ensure ApplyTilde is enabled, which allows ~212 to identify "99" as a
two digit AI. The ~212 is not actually encoded in the barcode. The result
must be 21 digits, for example:
99M123456789100000001
- Test scan the result with the
IDAutomation USB Scanner or other
Compatible Scanner.
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