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How much data can a barcode hold?


What is the data limit for a barcode?


07-14-15     8.7 year(s) ago    

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Ben

Best Answer

The amount of data that a barcode can hold varies between symbologies. 1D barcode symbologies, such as Code 39, will hold much less data than 2D barcode symbologies, such as Data Matrix. The main reason for the restriction is the scanners' inability to scan very large (width) barcodes (when the barcode is the typical 1D barcode). I will provide an approximate value for each symbology. The IDAutomation SC7USB 2D barcode scanner is able to scan a 2000 character QR Code barcode.

1D BARCODES (hold less than 100 characters)
Code 39 - 20 to 23 characters.
Code 128 - 45 to 80 characters.

Example of 1D Code 128 Barcode:
image


2D BARCODES (less than 2000 characters)
It is recommended to limit the amount of data encoded in each symbol to 800 characters or less if possible. The amount of data that can be encoded will vary depending on the type of data, the encoding mode, and what the scanner can read.
Data Matrix - approximately 1500 characters.
QR Code - approximately 1500 characters.
PDF417 - 200 to 600 characters

Example of 2D Data Matrix Barcode (with 167 characters):
image

Posted 8.7 year(s) ago

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