GS1 DataBar Symbology Barcode FAQ and Tutorial

INDEX:

• About GS1 DataBar
  • DataBar
  • DataBar Truncated
  • DataBar Stacked
  • DataBar Stacked Omni-Directional
  • DataBar Limited
  • DataBar Expanded
  • DataBar Expanded Stacked
  • Encoding Expiration Dates and Serial Numbers
• GS1 DataBar Expanded
• Composite Components
• Printing GS1 DataBar Barcodes
• Scanning or Reading GS1 DataBar

Notice: GS1.org 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 GS1 DataBar & Composite symbologies are the latest barcode types for space-constrained identification from GS1 (Formerly EAN International and the Uniform Code Council, Inc.). GS1 DataBar & Composite barcodes have been identified to solve many problems in the grocery industry and in healthcare, where items are too small to allow for older barcode symbologies, or additional information needs to be encoded such as expiration dates, country of origin and 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.

Within all DataBar symbologies, the first 13 digits of the GTIN-14 may be encoded, with the required 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 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.

• The first character is a linkage flag which determines if there is a Composite 2D barcode associated with the bar code. This is the first character encoded and it should not be included in the DataToEncode property. 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.
  
• The next 14 characters in GS1 DataBar are the 13 data characters plus an implied 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 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.
  
• There is an implied AI of 01 that should not be part of the DataToEncode.

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.
The last digit, which is a MOD 10 of the GTIN, is shown, however it is directly encoded in the symbol.

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. This symbology does not allow for the human readable text interpretation below the barcode because of its small size.

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. This symbology does not allow for human readable text with the barcode because of its small size.

Fig. 4. DataBar Stacked Omni-Directional encoding the data 00034567890125:

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 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 to encode additional data such as the expiration date, 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 to 4 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 data (01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231:

Fig. 8. DataBar Coupon Code created with (6 segments) encoding (8110)10014141012345290110100:

Fig. 9. DataBar 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".

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's GS1 DataBar Font - allows creation of all DataBar and DataBar Expanded symbols as a font.
• Barcode Image Generator - an end-user application that creates bar code image files for PhotoShop, Quark, CorelDraw and others for printing purposes. It can also paste barcodes into many Windows applications.
• Barcode Label Design Software Pro Version - used to design and print bar-code labels from data that is incremented or retrieved from a database.
• .NET Windows Forms Controls - create and print barcodes from Microsoft Visual Studio.NET applications.

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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