^B7

^B7

The
^B7
command produces the PDF417 barcode, a two-dimensional, multirow, continuous, stacked symbology. PDF417 is capable of encoding over 1,000 characters per barcode. It is ideally suited for applications requiring large amounts of information at the time the barcode is read.

PDF417 Bar Code

The barcode consists of three to 90 stacked rows. Each row consists of start and stop patterns and symbol characters called
code-words
. A code word consists of four bars and four spaces. A three-code-word minimum is required per row.
The PDF417 barcode is also capable of using the structured append option (
^FM
), which allows you to extend the field data limitations by printing multiple barcodes. For more information on using structured append, see ^FM.
  • PDF417 has a fixed print ratio.
  • Field data (
    ^FD)
    is limited to 3K of character data.
Format:
^B7o,h,s,c,r,t
Parameters
Details
o =
orientation
Values:
N =
normal
R =
rotated 90 degrees (clockwise)
I =
inverted 180 degrees
B =
read from the bottom up, 270 degrees
Default:
current
^FW
value
h =
bar code height for individual rows (in dots)
Values:
1
to height of label
Default:
value set by
^BY
This number multiplied by the module equals the height of the individual rows in dots. If this number is not specified, the overall barcode height, divided by the number of rows, equals the height of the individual rows in dots, where the overall barcode height is defined by the
^BY
command. 1 is not a recommended value.
s =
security level
Values:
1
to
8
(error detection and correction)
Default:
0
(error detection only)
This determines the number of error detection and correction code words to be generated for the symbol. The default level provides only error detection without correction. Increasing the security level adds increasing levels of error correction and increases the symbol size.
c =
number of data columns to encode
Values:
1
to
30
Default:
1:2
(row-to-column aspect ratio)
You can specify the number of code-word columns giving control over the width of the symbol.
r =
number of rows to encode
Values:
3
to
90
Default:
1:2
(row-to-column aspect ratio)
You can specify the number of symbol rows giving control over the height of the symbol. For example, with no row or column values entered, 72 code words would be encoded into a symbol of six columns and 12 rows. Depending on code words, the aspect ratio is not always exact.
t =
truncate right row indicators and stop pattern
Values:
N =
no truncation
Y =
perform truncation
Default:
N
Examples
This is an example of a PDF417 barcode:
This is an example of a PDF417 without and with truncation selected:
This example shows the
^B7
command used with field hex (
^FH
) characters:
Comments:
Noted in this bulleted list:
  • If both columns and rows are specified, their product must be less than 928.
  • No symbol is printed if the product of columns and rows is greater than 928.
  • No symbol is printed if total code words are greater than the product of columns and rows.
  • Serialization is not allowed with this barcode.
  • The truncation feature can be used in situations where label damage is not likely. The right row indicators and stop pattern are reduced to a single module bar width. The difference between a non-truncated and a truncated barcode is shown in the previous examples.

Special Considerations for ^BY When Using PDF417

When used with
^B7
, the parameters for the
^BY
command are:
w =
module width (in dots)
Values:
2
to
10
Default:
2
r =
ratio
Fixed Value:
3
(ratio has no effect on PDF417)
h
=
height of bars (in dots)
Values:
1
to
32000
Default:
10
PDF417 uses this only when row height is not specified in the
^B7
h
parameter.

Special Considerations for ^FD When Using PDF417

The character set sent to the printer with the
^FD
command includes the full ASCII set, except for those characters with special meaning to the printer.
  • CR and LF are also valid characters for all
    ^FD
    statements. This scheme is used:
\& =
carriage return/line feed
\\ =
backslash (\)
  • ^CI13
    must be selected to print a backslash (\).