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Data Limit for PDF417


I am using the sample Access Example.mdb to create a PDF417 barcode to encode (without the CRLF):

[)>065JUN218056927001295278V330027Q204012D20150325BLEI11111111111120
061JUN218056927001295279V330027P1427535Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP1
1111111111301061JUN218056927001295280V330027P1427535Q1702S4233401T
423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295281V330027P1427535Q170
2S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295282V330027P
1427535Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295283
V330027P1427535Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN21805
6927001295284V330027P1427535Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301
061JUN218056927001295285V330027P1427615Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP111
11111111301061JUN218056927001295286V330027P1427615Q1702S4233401T42
3340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295287V330027P1427615Q1702
S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295288V330027P142
7615Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056927001295289
V330027P1427615Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301061JUN218056
927001295290V330027P1427615Q1702S4233401T423340BEXP11111111111301

However, it produces the wrong output:
image

The actual encoded data ends up being (which looks wrong to me):
image

I have tried each of the varying IDAutomation PDF417 Barcode Fonts (IDAutomationPDF417n1, IDAutomationPDF417n2, IDAutomationPDF417n3, IDAutomationPDF417n4, and IDAutomationPDF417n5) and all produce a broken PDF417 image.

If I use content that has a lower number of characters, then the barcode prints out correctly.

Unfortunately, the majority of the content is similar to the above example which is causing us problems, and changing the content is out of the question (it is a customer specification).

Am I doing something wrong?

Operating System: Windows

Application: Microsoft Access

04-16-15     8.9 year(s) ago    

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James

Best Answer

It is recommended to limit the amount of data in each 2D barcode symbol to 800 characters or less, using 20 columns or less. Although the specification states that "up to 1100 bytes or 1800 ASCII characters can be encoded in a PDF417 symbol," it is not usually achievable. The amount of data that can be encoded will vary depending on the type of data, the compaction type, the error correction level chosen, and the limitation of the scanner being used. For example, in text compaction mode, the amount of compaction varies due to mode switching between different types of characters, such as between numbers, upper case, lower case, and punctuation. In addition, many PDF417 CCD scanners do not reliably read more than 800 to 850 characters and some scanners have limits of only 300 characters.

If it is necessary to encode more than 800 characters, IDAutomation recommends using Macro PDF mode or multiple separate symbols. In the best-case scenario, using the text encoding mode of the IDAutomation PDF417 Forms Control with the IDAutomation 2D Barcode Scanner, up to 1200 characters were successfully encoded and retrieved.

The data at issue has 1095 characters, including unprintable characters RS and GS - this is evident when the data is entered into something like NotePad++, which is capable of showing unprintable ASCII (below ASCII 32):

image

If you are able to determine the symbology type, DataMatrix or QR-Code are recommended.

Posted 8.9 year(s) ago

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