USPS Postnet & Intelligent Mail Barcode Fonts

• Easily print all USPS postal barcodes from a single font.
• Over 30 font tools, macros and plug-ins are provided.
• New - Supports Intelligent Mail barcodes such as OneCode Confirm & OneCode ACS.
• Contains several different font versions in six (6) different font formats.
• Includes examples for Word, Excel, Access and Crystal Reports.
• Compatible with Microsoft Windows®, Macintosh, Unix, Linux and others.
• TrueType, PostScript, OpenType and PCL laserjet soft fonts are included.
• Patent Pending font technology produces extremely high quality barcodes.
• Includes Intelligent Mail, POSTNET, PLANET, GS1-128, FIM and OCR-A symbologies used by the USPS.

Implementation Notes | Specifications | Support | Installation | Download Demo

IDAutomation's USPS Postnet & Intelligent Mail Barcode Font Package contains several different font versions in six (6) different formats. Included are font tools, macros and source code to help integrate the fonts into an application. Details of the package are as follows:

• Font Tools Provided - Several font tools are provided to assist with application integration. The font tools automatically format the start, stop and check characters to the barcode font. Available font tools include the following:
  • .NET Framework Assembly DLL (100% managed code)
  • C++ header file
  • C# .NET Class Library

  "I can print USPS barcodes on our newsletter mailing labels directly from our database, export data to the SmartAddresser 2020 software and qualify for Automation rates when mailing newsletters." - John Langer, USCWM, Pasadena CA

  • Check digit calculator with Visual Basic 6 and FoxPro source code
  • Crystal Reports Formulas
  • Crystal Reports UFL (User Function Library)
  • DLL for Windows®
  • FileMaker Pro Plug-ins
  • FoxPro Program Module
  • LotusScript Functions for Lotus Notes, Domino and Approach
  • Microsoft® Office Macros and VBA for Word, Excel and Access
  • Microsoft Reporting Services
  • Online Font Encoder (used to create bar codes one at a time)
  • Oracle Reports Libraries and PLL
  • OpenOffice & StarOffice VB macros
  • Source Code in Visual Basic, C++, PowerBuilder, FoxPro and JAVA
  • VB.NET Module
  • Complete list of all font tools
• Multiple Fonts Provided - Multiple versions of the POSTNET fonts are provided in this package to support various implementations and printers.
• Intelligent Mail Fonts - The unique encoding used in IDAutomation's Postnet fonts allow printing of Intelligent Mail and Postnet with the same font. Intelligent Mail is a routing, sorting and tracking barcode type based on the 4-State Barcode and is used for services such as OneCode Confirm & OneCode ACS. This barcode type has been previously referred to as the OneCode Solution, 4-State Customer Barcode, USPS4CB and 4-CB.
• FIM Fonts - The FIM bar code font is included and is used to sort business reply mail from other mail. For more information on the FIM bar code fonts, visit the FIM Barcode Font information page.
• Planet Fonts Included - PLANET is used to track mail. The Planet font should be used with the Postnet() function in IDAutomation's Font Tools
• OCR-A Font Included - This font is included to automate the reading of address data from text.
• USPS Special Services Font Included for EAN128 - A Code 128 font is provided for the printing of EAN-128 barcodes which are used for special services such as delivery confirmation.
• Canada Post Support - The IDAutomationC128L font is provided and will produce the dimensions required by the CANADA POST.
• Patent Pending Technology - The fonts provided in this package include new patent pending technology which allows extremely high quality barcode printing.
• Multiple Formats Provided - After purchasing a license for this font, the customer will receive all versions in a single ZIP file. The manual is supplied in a file named "readme" in the ZIP file. The following fonts are included:

  "We chose this product because of clearly presented product descriptions and availability of macros to help with check digits etc. We can now use the barcode fonts in our packaging designs instead of creating a graphic and placing it in the documents manually. It's much faster and more reliable." - Joseph Wood, Vernon Communication, Elmhurst, IL

  • TrueType fonts are supplied in PC and Macintosh format. The TrueType TTF fonts are compatible with Macintosh OS X and all versions of Microsoft Windows, including Pocket PC. Macintosh formatted MTT TrueType fonts are compatible with Macintosh System 7.1 and above.
  • OpenType OTF fonts with PostScript outlines are provided. These are compatible with Windows, Macintosh OS X and other systems supporting the OpenType format.
  • PostScript Type 1 fonts are supplied in binary, ASCII and Macintosh Classic MacBinary versions.
  • Also included in this package are PCL laserjet soft fonts in 11.4, 12 and 12.6 points.
  • The Developer License grants the right to convert IDAutomation fonts to other formats as necessary including TrueDoc and OpenType.
  • For the most up to date installation procedures for other operating systems, please visit IDAutomation's Technical Support Site.

All orders include free, automatic registration for technical support and product upgrades for a period of 30 days. Support and upgrades may be provided beyond 30 days if the Priority Support and Upgrade Subscription is purchased when making the order.

IDAutomation.com offers secure, encrypted online ordering by credit card and immediate delivery via download after the order is approved. Other ordering options.

License Summary: (Choose the appropriate link to obtain more details about the license type.)

• The Developer License allows one (1) developer royalty-free distribution up to 10,000 user licenses.
• The 5 Developer License grants the rights of the Developer License for up to five (5) developers and 20,000 user licenses.
• The Unlimited Developer License grants the rights of the Developer License for an unlimited number of developers and an unlimited number of user licenses.
• The Small Company Developer License grants the rights of the Developer License to qualifying organizations.
• The Single User License allows use of the Software for one (1) user in your organization. However, if the Software is used in connection with a high speed printer that prints over 55 pages per minute or a system (including all hardware, printer and software) having a cost totaling over 50,000 USD or equivalent in a foreign currency, a Developer License is required. Highly discounted Multiple User Licenses are also available in various quantities.

Product Types	Single User License	Small Company Developer License	Developer License	5 Developer License	Unlimited Developer License
USPS Postnet & Intelligent Mail Barcode Font Package    Download Demo	$139	$417	$790	$1580	$2370

If assistance is needed, please contact IDAutomation.

Several implementation examples are provided with the Windows installation executable included in the package. If problems are encountered with implementation, the examples may provide insight. Additionally, many of IDAutomation's Font Tools include tutorials.

Obtaining the Data to Encode:

Before data is encoded in the barcode, it must be formatted properly. The links below will provide the information necessary to create a single string of text that is to be encoded:

• Postnet - used to encode the zip code and delivery point.
• Planet - tracks both inbound and outbound letter mail.
• USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (Formerly OneCode Solution) - combines the zip code data of Postnet and the tracking of Planet into one compact symbol. This is the new recommended barcode type to use that will eventually replace Postnet and Planet.
• USPS EAN-128 - used for special services such as delivery confirmation.

Formatting Data to the Font:

Start, stop and checksum characters must be added to all Postnet, Planet and Code 128 barcodes to create a symbol that can be read by the USPS. IDAutomation recommends using the font tools to automatically add the required start, stop and checksum characters to the barcode font.

In some cases the font tools may not be needed. If the check digit is already pre-calculated or included in the data for a Postnet or Planet barcode, it is only necessary to place the Start and Stop characters "(" or parenthesis ")" around the data before the font is applied and ensure the data does not contain any spaces or dashes. For example, the ZIP code data of 12345-6789 would be (1234567895) after the check digit is applied and the Start/Stop characters added. To manually calculate the check digit, please refer to the Check Digit Calculation Example in the USPS FAQ. IDAutomation's On-line Barcode Font Encoder may be used to verify check digits, or to create bar codes one at a time.

A font tool must be used to generate the text string for the Intelligent Mail font because of the complex encoding algorithms used in this symbology. When a font tool cannot be implemented, Intelligent Mail may be printed by accessing a database that already contains the text string formatted to the font. The Word mail-merge example included in this package works in this way; a merge field in Word is linked to a column in Excel that contains the text formatted to the font.

Printing and Font Size:

After the data is formatted to the font and the appropriate font selected, it may be printed. The font size of 12 should be used when printing all Intelligent Mail, OneCode, Postnet and Planet barcodes. FIM symbols should be printed with a font size of 36. The Code 128 font used for EAN128 should be printed at 16 points for USPS Special Services. More information about the sizing of fonts is provided in the specifications.

IDAutomation suggests printing the fonts at the recommended point sizes specified in this section. When TrueType, PostScript or OpenType fonts are used, the size may be further adjusted by changing the font point size. For example, to print the 12 point POSTNET font slightly wider, increase the font size to 12.1 points.

The following specifications apply to the IDAutomationPOSTNET and IDAutomationPLANET fonts:

Specifications for IDAutomationOCRa:

Specifications for IDAutomationC128L:

Supported implementations, font names and compatible functions:

* The IDAutomationPOSTNET and IDAutomationPLANET fonts are also supplied in different narrow intensities which may be needed depending on the area the symbol is printed to and the printer that is used:

• n1 - A narrow version font that creates the smallest possible barcode allowed by the specification, which is 24 bars per inch and a narrow bar width of .015 inches.
• n2 - This extra narrow version font also produces 24 bars per inch but with the bars narrowed by an additional 10%. This is the font that may be used with ink jet printers or others that print much darker than normal.

** Currently, Intelligent Mail and OneCode are supported by Font Tools that are Feature Level 7 or greater including the Crystal Reports UFL, Microsoft VBA for Excel and Access and the Windows DLL. The OneCode() and IntelligentMail() encoding methods are identical and may be used in place of each other.

Intelligent Mail barcodes may be produced from IDAutomation's font tools or other encoders, such as those provided by the USPS. To accommodate both types of encoding, each 4-State symbol element is placed at two character locations within the Postnet font according to the following table:

The USPS uses the uppercase letters for encoding while IDAutomation font tools use the lower case letters. The lower case letters used provide complete compatibility with the IDAutomation Universal Barcode Font, which allows generation of Intelligent Mail, Postnet and Planet, as well as Code 128, Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5 symbols from a single font file.

To install the package in Windows, run the INSTALL.EXE setup utility. This utility will install the most commonly used fonts. The following describes how to manually install a font in Windows:

• Click on Start, select settings and click on Control Panel.
• Click on Fonts, click on File in the main tool bar, and select Install New Font.
• Locate the font that needs to be installed.
• The font will appear and look like this: font name (true type) - select the appropriate font and Click on OK.
• Click Start and choose to shut down and restart the computer.
• The font should be active after the computer restarts.

Installing the fonts on Macintosh OS X:

1. Drag or copy and paste the TrueType font file(s) ending in TTF to the Library/Fonts folder.
2. To activate the fonts, restart the application - some applications may require you to restart the computer.
3. The font should now be active in the font menu of your application.

To install the TrueType font on the Classic Macintosh (OS 7.1 - OS 9):

1. Download and install Stuffit Expander on the Macintosh if the computer does not have an expander utility that can open ZIP files and decode MacBinary files.
2. Open the ZIP distribution file that contains the fonts by dragging the ZIP file on the Stuffit Expander icon. The font files will be extracted from the ZIP distribution file and will appear in a subfolder of the folder where the ZIP file was placed. Open this subfolder to view the font files. At this point, view the documentation supplied with the font files, by dragging the file "readme.html" to the Netscape or Internet Explorer icon.
3. Next the files must be decoded from MacBinary format. Drag the font files that end with "mtt" to the Stuffit Expander icon.
4. Drag the decoded font files to the System - Fonts folder.
5. Restart the application to use the font with.
6. The font will be active in the font menu of the application.

PCL Fonts:
To obtain information about installing PCL fonts, refer to the PCLinfo.html document provided in the PCL folder of the package.

The FIM font is used to identify Business Reply Mail, OCR Readable Mail and Courtesy Reply Mail (These fonts are only included with the licensed version.)

POSTNET FIM Bar Code Font Symbols (print font size = 36)

POSTNET FIM Font Symbols (print font size = 48)
In addition to the symbols provided below, the horizontal bars represented in letters E and F are also included in characters 1 through 7 with each character representing the number of bars included. For example, the symbol in the number seven contains 7 bars.

POSTNET FIM Font Symbols (print font size = 36 to 48)

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