1. ZPL II, ZBI 2, Set-Get-Do, Mirror, WML Programming Guide
  2. ZPL Commands
  3. ^B3
  • ZPL II, ZBI 2, Set-Get-Do, Mirror, WML Programming Guide
^B3

^B3

The Code 39 barcode is the standard for many industries, including the US Department of Defense. It is one of three symbologies identified in the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard MH10.8M-1983. Code 39 is also known as USD-3 Code and 3 of 9 Code.

Code 39 Barcode

Each character in a Code 39 barcode is composed of nine elements: five bars, four spaces, and an inter-character gap. Three of the nine elements are wide; the six remaining elements are narrow.
  • ^B3
     supports print ratios of 2.0:1 to 3.0:1.
  • Field data (
    ^FD
    ) is limited to the width (or length, if rotated) of the label.
  • Code 39 automatically generates the start and stop character (*).
  • Asterisk (*) for start and stop character prints in the interpretation line, if the interpretation line is turned on.
  • Code 39 is capable of encoding the full 128-character ASCII set.
If additional information about this barcode is required, go to aimglobal.org.
Format:
^B3o,e,h,f,g
Parameters
Details
o =
 orientation
Values:
N =
 normal
R =
 rotated 90 degrees (clockwise)
I =
 inverted 180 degrees
B =
 read from bottom up, 270 degrees
Default:
 current
^FW
 value
e =
 Mod-43 check digit
Values:
Y =
 yes
N =
 no
Default:
N
h =
 bar code height (in dots)
Values:
1
 to
32000
Default:
 value set by
^BY
f =
 print interpretation line
Values:
Y =
 yes
N =
 no
Default:
Y
g =
 print interpretation line above code
Values:
Y =
 yes
N =
 no
Default:
N
Example
This is an example of a Code 39 barcode:
Comments:
 Extended ASCII is a function of the scanner, not of the barcode. Your scanner must have extended ASCII enabled for this feature to work. To enable extended ASCII in the Code 39, you must first encode +$ in your
^FD
 statement. To disable extended ASCII, you must encode -$ in your
^FD
 statement.
Example
This example encodes a carriage return with line feed into a Code 39 barcode:

Full ASCII Mode for Code 39

Code 39 can generate the full 128-character ASCII set using paired characters as shown in this table:
Code 39 ASCII Set
ASCII
CODE 39
ASCII
Code 39
SP
Space
SOH
$A
!
/A
STX
$B
''
/B
ETX
$C
#
/C
EOT
$D
$
/D
ENQ
$E
%
/E
ACK
$F
&
/F
BEL
$G
'
/G
BS
$H
(
/H
HT
$I
)
/I
LF
$J
*
/J
VT
$K
+
/K
FF
$L
,
/L
CR
$M
-
-
SO
$N
.
.
SI
$O
/
/O
DLE
$P
0
0
DC1
$Q
1
1
DC2
$R
2
2
DC3
$S
3
3
DC4
$T
4
4
NAK
$U
5
5
SYN
$V
6
6
ETB
$W
7
7
CAN
$X
8
8
EM
$Y
9
9
SUB
$Z
:
/Z
ESC
%A
;
%F
FS
%B
<
%G
FS
%C
=
%H
RS
%D
>
%I
US
%E
?
%J
@
%V
'
%W
A
A
a
+A
B
B
b
+B
C
C
c
+C
D
D
d
+D
E
E
e
+E
F
F
f
+F
G
G
g
+G
H
H
h
+H
I
I
i
+I
J
J
j
+J
K
K
k
+K
L
L
l
+L
M
M
m
+M
N
N
n
+N
O
O
o
+O
P
P
p
+P
Q
Q
q
+Q
R
R
r
+R
S
S
s
+S
T
T
t
+T
U
U
u
+U
V
V
v
+V
W
W
w
+W
X
X
x
+X
Y
Y
y
+Y
Z
Z
z
+Z
[
%K
{
%P
\
%L
|
%Q
]
%M
}
%R
^
%N
~
%S
_
%O
DEL
%T, %T