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SSCC Bar Codes

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    SSCC Bar Codes

    Greetings Alpha experts,

    I am trying to print a sequence of SSCC-18 bar codes on a labels generated from a field in an Alpha 5 Table. The field length is 20 characters (0-9) with the last digit (#20) a calculated check digit. The actual data is ok, having been verified on the GS-1 web site. I am using an EAN-128 Windows font to render the bar code on the label and I am able to print the codes but unable to scan the resulting label. If I put the same data into my dedicated label software (Weber - Legi), the resulting label is scan-able. I would be grateful if anyone could offer some insight into this matter.

    Happy holidays to all.

    #2
    Re: SSCC Bar Codes

    Most font providers also have code to "encode" the value to be printed as a barcode. The code maps the individual characters to the font "characters".

    http://www.idautomation.com/barcode-faq/sscc-18/
    There can be only one.

    Comment


      #3
      Re: SSCC Bar Codes

      Dear Stan,

      Thank you for your prompt reply. Your link points to one of the web pages that I had already looked at. On their example they are adding some special codes to the beginning and end of the data (~212 and ~m17). I am not sure what this means, but I tried to add these codes when printing the label in Alpha 5 and I got the same results as before adding the codes.

      Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: SSCC Bar Codes

        In the link provided there is also reference to a VB script. In the example

        "~212" & LabelField(AI) & LabelField(PackagingType) &
        LabelField(ManufacturerNumber) & LabelField(SerialNumber) & "~m17"

        LabelField() seems to be a VB function to translate the field values to something that will correspond with the font characters. The provider of your font should have a similar routine which will generate a value which will print a readable barcode.

        One doesn't simply stick a start_code at the beginning of plain data and add the check digit and stop_code.
        There can be only one.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: SSCC Bar Codes

          Dear Mathew,

          Thank you for your continuing assistance. The font is simply a download of a .ttf file that resides in the windows\fonts folder. There is no documentation with the file. It would be interesting to know whet the function "LabelField" does to the data. I will try to look that up...

          Comment


            #6
            Re: SSCC Bar Codes

            Here's another link to a reference of encoding the string to be barcoded. I believe each font provider will have their own implementation to protect their font.

            http://www.barcoderesource.com/macrosbarcode.shtml
            There can be only one.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: SSCC Bar Codes

              instead of using window ean-128 font may be try downloading barcode generator for ean128 from free-barcode-generator.net and see if that is scannable.
              if your data is correct and the labelling software produces proper barcode than the font you are using may not be correct.
              thanks for reading

              gandhi

              version 11 3381 - 4096
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              http://www.alphawebprogramming.blogspot.com
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              Comment


                #8
                Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                Thank you for your help. I have tried about 25 different free or shareware fonts and none of them give me a scan-able SSCC-18 barcode. I can print a scan-able barcode by copying the data into Avery Design Pro, or in the Legi label program, but when I try to print from Alpha 5, I get a completely different bar code image that is not readable by my scanner. I wouldn't mind paying for the Font if I knew that it would work properly with the application. Any additional help from Alpha developers would be gratefully appreciated.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                  when I try to print from Alpha 5
                  What are you trying to print from Alpha? If it is a table field are you trimming the table field value to remove spaces? Do you have a calculated field where you add the start character, the check digit, and the stop character?
                  There can be only one.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                    Stan, thank you for your continuing help. I have tried a number of different configurations for the data. For example, the entire code: "00006919901592500149" - the check digit (9) is included (and has been verified on the GS-1 site), also "(00)006919901592500149" the AI code at the beginning in parentheses, both of these with and without the check digit, with various prefixes and suffixes (^F, ~212, ~m17) taken from examples found on the web. This is a frustrating exercise that I just don't get. I have printed UPC codes from Alpha in the past and they have always worked. Do you have any ideas about the start and stop characters mentioned in your message?

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                      The start character for code128 is usually Chr(203) and the stop character is Chr(206).
                      There can be only one.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                        Stan, thank you again for your prompt reply. I inserted the start and stop characters as per your advice, and indeed the beginning bars and the ending bars of the bar code look exactly like the working sample. Unfortunately the bars in between the stop and start symbols are very different and still do not scan. Again, I tried all the different combinations of data formatting but still no luck. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                          Again, I tried all the different combinations of data formatting but still no luck.
                          Because you still haven't done anything to encode the value to be barcoded.

                          Almost every code 128 font I find includes code or functions to encode the value to be barcode. Usually the code examples are for VB, Excel, etc.

                          http://download.cnet.com/BarCodeWiz-...-10330158.html

                          The code or functions included create an intermediary character string which when printed in the barcode font yield a scanable barcode. They "map" the input values to the positions of the appropriate bars in the barcode font.
                          There can be only one.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                            Stan, thank you again for your informative input. I did some searches on the topic and I understand what you mean. For example, there is a software called Morovia Code 128 that allows you to enter the numeric value of the bar code. The program encodes the data and actually displays the encoded value. In our case, the SSCC code is 00691990159250014 - The program displays

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: SSCC Bar Codes

                              The value returned is being "eaten" when I try to paste it in here. I suppose the same happened in your post. I think I have the Morovia functions necessary for sscc18 translated to xbasic. Still testing.
                              There can be only one.

                              Comment

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