Barcode, labelling and utility software

Barcode Fonts

Barcode fonts enable you to include printable barcodes on documents, labels or reports. While font-based barcodes do not offer the versatility of picture-based barcodes, there are situations in which they are required (such as when using Word's Mailmerge facility) or desirable (such as when storing large numbers of barcodes in databases or spreadsheets without the storage overhead of picture-based barcodes).

Font based barcodes are made of text strings which when displayed or printed in the appropriate font form the bars of the barcode. Only in a very limited number of cases is the text string easily related to the data required in the barcode. For example, a Code 39 barcode containing the data 1234 may be turned into a barcode by placing a * before and after the data (to produce *1234*) and then displaying that text in a Code 39 barcode font. Unfortunately most barcode types do not have a one-to-one correspondence between the data and the barcode, or require additional check or control characters in the barcode.

In most cases a conversion is required to translate the data for the barcode into another text string that will form the barcode when displayed in the relevant font.

For 1D barcodes there are two approaches to font barcodes. One is to have a barcode font for a specific barcode type (such as Code 39) - in which case the human readable code may be included under each character. Another is to have a font that supports a wide range of barcode types, but without the human readable form underneath - because different types require different bar patterns for a given human readable character. This latter approach is not really a disadvantage, as the data is generally available in text form to create the barcode in the first place, so it is not a problem to display or print this under the barcode.

The Barcode Fonts for Windows range of font packages provide fonts that (where applicable) include the human readable characters under the barcode, but a different font package is required for each barcode type, while the Universal Barcode Font does not have human readable characters but the single package supports most common 1D barcodes, including postal and clocked codes.

Some 2D barcodes may also be supported through 2D barcode fonts, although generally this approach can be used only with 2D types that have a consistent bar height. So Aztec, Datamatrix, PDF417, QR Code and the linear variants of GS1 Databar can be supported through fonts, while the stacked variants of Databar cannot (because the symbols require rows of different heights).

Even barcode font products that support 2D types require that the application that will ultimately print or display the barcode allows for the selection of the font, the font size and the line spacing. Thus in Word and Access all these properties are available to the user and 2D font barcodes display and print correctly, while Excel does not permit the setting of a line spacing - thus preventing the printing of 2D barcodes directly from the worksheet without gaps between the lines! Excel can still be used for the storage of 2D font barcodes, but requires another application - such as Word's Mail merge - to print well-formed barcodes.

dLSoft font products

All dLSoft barcode fonts provided under a developer licence may also be embedded into pdf documents and web pages, although it may be worth considering an image-based product for such applications. Barcode font or picture - which to use?  Font-based 1D barcodes can also be created within Microsoft Office applications using the Barcode Macros for Office or dBarcode 1D Developer Kit products, and 2D barcodes using the dBarcode 2D Developer kit - all of which can generate either font-based or image-based 1D barcodes

All dLSoft barcode font products include TrueType, OpenType and PostScript fonts as well as DLLs, Active-X tools, managed-code .NET components and Crystal Reports User Function Libraries (UFLs) along with sample code. dLSoft produces three types of barcode font products:

Barcode Fonts for Windows
- a wide range of fonts for individual barcode types; easy to use, with the source of dFont Helper and a developer's kit supplied to show how check digits and start/stop characters may be inserted, and (for many fonts) complete with a font containing human readable form under the bars.   

Universal Barcode Font Kit
- a single barcode font which can be used to create barcodes for most 1D barcode types and the linear variants of GS1 Databar. Note that this font does not produce human readable characters. The barcode text is translated using a DLL, OCX, UFL, .NET component or Java class, and so accessible from most programmable applications and environments (VB, MS Office, Delphi, C++, Crystal Reports, etc.)   

2D-barcode font kits
- Kits available for Aztec, DataMatrix, PDF417 and QR Code 2D barcodes, complete with DLLs, OCXs, .NET components and Java classes which translate data into the characters required to print the barcode and is accessible from most programmable applications and environments (VB, MS Office, Delphi, C++, etc.).

Barcode Macros for Office
Barcode Macros for Office provides a collection of macros for converting a selected item (text in Word, one or more cells in Excel or Access) into high quality barcode pictures or font based barcodes, and Active-X controls for use on documents, spreadsheets, forms or reports. The macros are suitable for use in Office 2000 or later, including Office 2007.

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10/04/2008

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