GS1 DataBar Symbology Barcode FAQ & Tutorial
INDEX:
Composite Components
Printing GS1 DataBar Barcodes
Scanning or Reading GS1 DataBar
The GS1 DataBar symbology is the latest barcode type for space-constrained
identification from GS1 (Formerly
EAN International and the Uniform Code Council, Inc.). DataBar barcodes
have been identified to solve many problems in POS, grocery and healthcare,
where items are too small to allow for older barcode symbologies, or
additional information needs to be encoded such as product weight, expiration
dates, country of origin or serial numbers. DataBar is also the only
symbology approved by the GS1 for use in all retail checkout systems
after January 1, 2010 to encode
GTIN-14 numbers. DataBar is also required to be used for
coupon barcodes by the Joint Industry Coupon Committee (JICC).
GS1 recently renamed the RSS Symbology
to GS1 DataBar to avoid confusion with the popular
RSS XML
Feed technology. The name change does not change the barcode standards,
therefore documentation referring to the "RSS Symbology" is the same
as
GS1 DataBar. GS1 also recently
renamed several barcode standards built on
Code 128 such
as EAN-128 and UCC-128 to
GS1-128.
The following is a comparison of a UPC-A barcode encoding the
GTIN-12 data of "123456789012" with DataBar barcodes encoding the
same data for use in POS systems. The GTIN-12 is
converted to a GTIN-14 by appending zeros to the beginning of the
number. The DataBar Expanded Stacked symbol below encodes the 14 digit
GTIN and "Sell by Date" in about the same space as a standard UPC symbol.
DataBar Expanded Stacked may also be
sized to consume less width or
height.
Table1. UPC to DataBar POS Comparison.
| UPC-A
|
DataBar-14
|
DataBar Stacked
|
DataBar Expanded
Stacked |
Encodes GTIN-12:
123456789012 |
Encodes GTIN-14:
(01)00123456789012 |
Encodes GTIN-14:
(01)00123456789012 |
GTIN + Sell
by Date; 4 Segments:
(01)00123456789012(15)991231 |
 |
 |
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The above symbols were generated with the
DataBar Barcode Image
Generator at 96 DPI.
DataBar Symbol Details
Within all DataBar symbologies, the first
13 digits of the GTIN-14 may be encoded, with the required
Application Identifier
(AI) of 01 and a non-visible DataBar check digit. The last digit of
the
GTIN-14 is a MOD 10 check digit, which is not actually encoded in
the DataBar symbology. If the full 14-digit GTIN is needed after reading
the symbol, it may be generated with a
MOD10 calculation.
The following is a summary of the different symbologies within the
GS1 DataBar barcode specification, as they relate to IDAutomation's
products that print or create GS1 DataBar
barcodes. The images below may be printed for testing purposes;
they were all created with the
GS1 DataBar (RSS) Image
Generator.
GS1 DataBar (previously referred
to as RSS-14) also known as GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional is
capable of encoding up to 20,000,000,000,000 (20 trillion) values. This
symbol is approved for POS use after 1-1-2010.
- There is an implied AI of 01 that should not be part of the
DataToEncode, except when using
DataBar Expanded.
- A linkage flag determines if there is a Composite 2D barcode
associated with the bar code. The encoder selects either a "1" (true)
or "0" (false) value as the first character in the barcode based
on the IsComposite property of the barcode encoder. This should
not be included in the DataToEncode.
- The next 14 characters in GS1 DataBar are the 13 data characters
plus a MOD 10 check digit. The check digit is not actually encoded
in the barcode (as per the GS1 DataBar standards), but should be
included as part of the DataToEncode property. If it is not known,
a zero may be substituted for it.
- If less than 14 characters are entered in the DataToEncode property,
zeroes are padded to the front after the linkage flag. Non-numeric
characters are stripped from the DataToEncode property.
Fig. 1. GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional example encoding the GTIN
of 20012345678909:
Note: The text interpretation of this symbol is not showing the linkage
flag of zero.
GS1 DataBar Truncated
(RSS-14 Truncated) has the exact same data characteristics
as the GS1 DataBar barcode, except the bar
height is set to the minimum height of 13 times the X dimension. The
DataBar
Font Package contains a 13x font specifically for this purpose.
This symbology is not approved for use in POS systems.
Fig. 2. DataBar Truncated encoding the data 00012345678905:
GS1 DataBar Stacked (RSS-14
Stacked) has the exact same data characteristics as
GS1 DataBar. The data to encode is split
in half and encoded as a split level barcode. This format is used if
the width of the barcode will be an issue. The height of the top row
of the GS1 DataBar Stacked barcode is 5 times the X dimension and the
height of the bottom row is 7 times the X dimension. The
DataBar
Font Package contains a stacked font that is an exact match for
these specifications. The barcode contains a separator pattern, containing
no data, which has a height equal to one X dimension. Because this symbology
can not be scanned omni-directionally, it is not approved for use in
all POS systems.
Fig. 3. DataBar Stacked encoding the data 00012345678905:
GS1 DataBar Stacked
Omni-Directional (RSS-14 Stacked Omni-directional) has
the exact same data characteristics as GS1 DataBar.
This symbol is approved for POS use after 1-1-2010. The data to encode
is separated to create a split level barcode. The height of each row
is ascertained from the bar height property of the control. The barcode
contains a separator pattern, containing no data, which has a height
equal to 3 times the X dimension. The IDAutomation
DataBar
Font Package contains a stacked font named "DataBar
34" specifically for this purpose.
Fig. 4. DataBar Stacked Omni-Directional encoding the data
00123456789012:
GS1 DataBar Limited (RSS-14
Limited) has the same data characteristics as the
GS1 DataBar barcode, except that it may only
include values up to 4,000,000,000,000 (4 trillion). This symbology
is specifically designed to be read by wands and handheld laser scanners.
It can not be read efficiently by omni-directional scanners. The sample
below is encoding the data 15012345678907:
Fig. 5. DataBar Limited Example.
GS1 DataBar Expanded (RSS-14 Expanded) is a variable
length, expanded version of the DataBar symbology
capable of encoding the 14 digit GTIN and additional data including
expiration dates, the country of origin and serial numbers - up to 74
numeric or 41 alphabetic characters. Omnidirectional is not normally
part of the title of this symbology, even though it is omni-directional
and approved for POS use after 1-1-2010. This symbology does allow for
the linkage flag, which determines if there is a 2D composite barcode
associated with the linear barcode. This symbology may be used in a
variety of ways, and has specific encoding methods for particular
Application Identifiers
(AI's) and encodes data more efficiently for certain AI combinations.
AI's must be entered manually to ensure the proper encoding method.
When using this barcode symbology with IDAutomation's products, the
parenthesis must be placed around each AI as in the examples below.
Specific AI formats are optimized to create the most efficient barcode.
The following is a table of optimized AI combinations:
- Data containing AI's -- (01) and (3103); Example: (01)90012345678908(3103)001750
- Data containing AI's -- (01) and either (3202) or (3203); Example:
(01)90012345678908(3202)000156
- Data containing AI's -- (01) and (392x) where x ranges from
1 to 3 Example: (01)90012345678908(3922)795
- Data containing AI's -- (01) and (393x) where x ranges from
1 to 3 Example: (01)90012345678908(3932)0401234
- Data containing AI's -- (01) and either (310x) or (320x) where
x ranges from 1 to 9 and either AI's (11) or (13) or (15) or (17);
Example (01)90012345678908(3103)012233(15)991231
Fig. 6. DataBar Expanded Example encoding the data (01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231:
GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
Omnidirectional (RSS-14 Expanded Stacked Omni-directional)
has the exact same data characteristics as
GS1 DataBar Expanded, except that
it may be stacked to decrease width and increase height. This is the
type of symbol commonly used for
coupons and is used to encode additional data in POS such as the
expiration date, product weight, country of origin and serial numbers.
A DataBar Expanded symbol is stacked by changing the "Segments" property
to a low even value, such as 4 or 6. The number of segments chosen may
produce 2 or more rows. The IDAutomation
DataBar
Font Package contains a stacked font named "DataBar
34" specifically for this purpose. This symbol is omni-directional
and approved for POS use after 1-1-2010, even when stacked.
Fig. 7. DataBar Expanded Stacked (4 segments) encoding the
GTIN, weight and sell by date
with the following data: (01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231
Fig. 8.
DataBar Coupon Code created with (6 segments) encoding
(8110)10014141012345290110100:
Fig. 9. DataBar POS symbol encoding [GTIN, Price, Weight,
Expiration Date, Country of Origin and Serial Number] with the following
data: "(01)09501101420069(3922)995(3202)000100(17)100101(422)123(21)123456".
Table 2. DataBar Expanded may
be sized with the segments property to change the height or width.
| DataBar Expanded |
DataBar Expanded
Stacked |
DataBar Expanded
Stacked |
GTIN + Sell
Date; 22 Segments:
(01)00123456789012(15)991231 |
GTIN + Sell
Date; 4 Segments:
(01)00123456789012(15)991231 |
GTIN + Sell
Date; 2 Segments:
(01)00123456789012(15)991231 |
 |
|
 |
The above symbols were generated with the
DataBar Barcode Image
Generator at 96 DPI.
The following components are available that support the printing
of GS1 DataBar barcodes:
IDAutomation offers the following hand-held scanners that support
the reading of GS1 DataBar barcode types*:
- The
IDAutomation USB Barcode Scanner offers superior performance
and reads GS1 DataBar-14, DataBar Limited, DataBar Expanded, DataBar
Expanded Stacked, DataBar Truncated, UPC, EAN, other common barcodes
and PDF417.
- Metrologic Voyager
Laser Scanner - reads GS1 DataBar, GS1 DataBar Limited and GS1
DataBar Expanded.
-
Hand Held Products IT3800LR long range CCD scanner - reads GS1
DataBar plus Linear and PDF417.
- Symbol
Laser Scanner - reads GS1 DataBar and Linear barcode types.
-
MS9535 Wireless Voyager - is a wireless hand-held that can read
GS1 DataBar plus Linear.
-
Symbol M2004 Cyclone Adaptive Scanner - reads 1-D, 2-D, GS1
DataBarbar and Composite.
* Some scanners do not read all GS1 DataBar and Composite symbologies.
Refer to the manufacturer specifications and data sheet for details.
The
IDAutomation USB Barcode Scanner reads all DataBar variants.
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