Programming Codes
T480
Programmer’s Guide
Page
114
Rev A
100-14362
PDF 417, Truncated PDF417 and Micro PDF 417
PDF 417, Truncated PDF417 and Micro PDF 417 are a two dimensional barcode that
will encode the full ASCII character set. As it encodes the full set including control
characters, the length of the following data must be provided to the printer.
PDF 417
Large amounts of text and data can be encoded when using the PDF417 barcodes. The
printed symbol consists of several linear rows of stacked code words. Each codeword
represents 1 of 929 possible values from one of three different clusters. A different
cluster is chosen for each row, repeating after every three rows. Because the code
words in each cluster are unique, the scanner is able to determine what line each cluster
is from.
PDF417 uses Reed Solomon error correction instead of check digits. This error
correction allows the symbol to endure some damage without causing loss of data. AIM
standards recommend a minimum error correction level of 2.
The X dimension is the width of the narrowest bar in a printed codeword. The Y
dimension is the height of each row within the PDF417 symbol. The PDF417 barcode is
usually printed at an X to Y ratio of 1:2 to 1:5. The EPIC 3000 printer defaults to a
1:ratio. By lowering the ratio, a significant amount of space can be saved; however,
some scanners cannot read X to Y ratios of less than 1:3.
The form of the command is as follows:
Function
PDF 417
ASCII
[ESC] b <9><nL><nH><d
1
> … <d
n
>
Hexadecimal
1BH 62H <9><nL><nH><d
1
> … <d
n
>
Decimal
<27> <98> <9><nL><nH><d
1
> … <d
n
>
Where the data length is (nH * 256) + nL. The length is limited to be from 1 to 2048
characters.
Alternate Command
Function
PDF 417
ASCII
[ESC] b <10> {information}[NUL]
Hexadecimal
1BH 62H <10> {information}[NUL]
Decimal
<27> <98> <10>{information}[NUL]
[ESC]b<10>TransAct Technologies Inc.[NUL]
Figure 34 PDF 417 Example
