Extended Code 39 Barcode Fonts

Extended Code 39 allows encoding of the Full ASCII Character Set with the Code 3 of 9 barcode symbology. For a scanner to properly decode Code 3 of 9 extended characters, it must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9. Extended Code 39 is useful if tabs, returns or lower case letters need to be encoded.

There are 2 methods of creating extended Code 3 of 9 barcodes with IDAutomation fonts.

1. The easiest method may be to use the Extended Code 39 Barcode Fonts, which are provided in the IDAutomation Code 39 Barcode Font Advantage Package. This font easily creates uppercase & lowercase letters, numbers and some symbols. Refer to the extended font character set for details.
2. Use one of the four Code 39 characters +, $, % or / followed by one of the 26 Code 39 barcode alphabetic characters according to the Code 3 of 9 Full ASCII Chart. Regular Code 39 barcode fonts should be used when applying this method.

IDAutomation recommends using Code 128 or PDF417 for purposes of encoding a large amount of extended characters; due to the inefficiency of Code 39 in extended mode, these barcodes can become quite long.

Creating Returns and Tabs in Extended Code 39:

To create a barcode that scans in 1234 and then a return function, !1234$M! would need to be printed. These may also be combined. For example: !12$I34$M! prints the barcode that scans 12, a tab, then 34 and a return. Refer to the Code 39 Full ASCII Chart for other codes. For the extended characters to scan properly, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9.

About Extended Code 39 Barcode Fonts

Extended Code 39 barcode fonts are provided with the IDAutomation Code 39 Barcode Font Advantage Package. IDAutomation has created these fonts for convenience when it is necessary to print some of the extended characters as they appear on the keyboard. Extended Code 39 Fonts are not compatible with IDAutomation's font automation tools, and the asterisk must be used as the start and stop character. For extended characters to scan properly, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9.

The IDAutomation Extended Code 39 Font ASCII Character Set

The ExtC39 Character column lists the character that resides at the ASCII location, which can be used to print the corresponding symbol. The "Symbol Scans As" column lists the character that the scanner will read when it is in extended mode. The ASCII and Unicode columns designate the location in either ASCII or Unicode where the barcode symbol for the character resides.

The Code 3 of 9 Full ASCII Chart

NOTE: For these extended characters to scan properly, the scanner must first be programmed to accept extended code 3 of 9.

The full 128 character ASCII character set can be printed in accordance with ISO 646. This may also be encoded in the Code 39 barcode font using combinations of two symbol characters made up of one of the four Code 39 characters (+, $, %, / ) followed by one of the 26 Code 39 barcode alphabetic characters.

ASCII Code39 ASCII Code39 ASCII Code39 ASCII Code39

NU %U SP = or ~ @ %V ` %W
SH $A ! /A A A a +A
SX $B " /B B B b +B
EX $C # /C C C c +C
ET $D $ /D D D d +D
EQ $E % /E E E e +E
AK $F & /F F F f +F
BL $G ' /G G G g +G
BS $H ( /H H H h +H
HT $I ) /I I I i +I
LF $J * /J J J j +J
VT $K + /K K K k +K
FF $L , /L L L l +L
CR $M - /M M M m +M
SO $N . /N N N n +N
SI $O / /O O O o +O
DL $P 0 0 P P p +P
D1 $Q 1 1 Q Q q +Q
D2 $R 2 2 R R r +R
D3 $S 3 3 S S s +S
D4 $T 4 4 T T t +T
NK $U 5 5 U U u +U
SY $V 6 6 V V v +V
EB $W 7 7 W W w +W
CN $X 8 8 X X x +X
EM $Y 9 9 Y Y y +Y
SB $Z : /Z Z Z z +Z
ESC %A ; %F [ %K { %P
FS %B < %G \ %L | %Q
GS %C = %H ] %M } %R
RS %D > %I ^ %N ~ %S
US %E ? %J _ %O DEL %T

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