How to make barcodes that actually scan
Picking the right barcode type, what each one can encode, why snapping bars to printer dots matters, and the two mistakes that cause most failed scans.
Steps
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Add a barcode and type the value
Click Barcode, then put what you want encoded in the Value box. The bars redraw as you type.
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Pick the type
Code 128 is the everyday one: letters, numbers, any length. Use it for part numbers, order numbers and anything internal.
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Use a retail type only when you need one
UPC-A and EAN-13 are the codes on shop products. They take a fixed count of digits and nothing else — put a letter in one and LabelVault tells you it cannot encode it rather than printing labels no till will read.
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Leave "Snap bars to printer dots" on
A thermal printer can only print whole dots. With this on, every bar is sized to whole dots so the widths come out exactly right.
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Make it bigger than feels necessary
Too small is the most common reason a scan fails, especially on a 203 dpi printer.
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Leave the quiet zone clear
Keep text and lines away from both ends of the barcode. Crowd it and it will not read.
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Keep the human-readable line
Leave "Print the value under the bars" ticked. When a scanner fails, somebody types it in.
Questions
- Which barcode should I use for internal part numbers?
- Code 128. It encodes letters and numbers, any length, and every scanner reads it.
- What is a quiet zone?
- The empty space either side of a barcode that tells the scanner where the code begins and ends. Roughly ten times the width of the narrowest bar, or about 2.5 mm on a typical label.
- Why does my QR code need error correction?
- It is how much damage the code can take and still read. The default is fine unless the label lives somewhere rough, where a higher level is worth the extra size.