Worth Data P11/12 - Manual (Page 42)

D-1
Appendix D
Specifications for Code 39
Code 39 (or Code 3 of 9) is the de facto standard of
non-retail American industry. It is widely used in the
automotive industry (AIAG specifications) as well as in
government and military applications (LOGMARS
specifications). Code 39 is flexible, features a large
character set, variable data length and density, and bi-directional readability. Code
39 is extremely accurate; substitution errors are almost nonexistent. Its character
set consists of numbers 0 through 9, upper case A-Z, and characters Space, $, %. /
+ and -.
The name "Code 39" comes from both the fact that its character set originally
contained 39 characters (it now has 43) and from its structure. Each character is
formed of three wide and six narrow elements, made up of five bars and four spaces.
Code 39's density can vary from a low of .75 characters per inch (cpi) to a high of
9.4 cpi. There should be a ¼" "quiet zone" (white space) to the left and right of
the bar code. Code 39 uses an asterisk (*) as a start and stop character. This
character must precede and follow the data in the bar code. The WDP gives you
the option of transmitting or not transmitting these characters when the bar code
is read.
Exact specifications for Code 39 and other bar code symbologies can be obtained
from ANSI at the address below:
American National Standards Institute
Customer Service
11 West 42nd St.
New York, NY 10036
http://web.ansi.org
document ANSI/AIM BC1-1995
The cost is $36.
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