code 39 barcodes

code 3 of 9

Code 39 barcodes are used for identification, inventory, warehousing, shipping, on forms, and labels. Code 39 is a variable length alphanumeric symbol. That means they can include both numbers and letters. The Code 39 character set includes the letters A-Z (uppercase), the digits 0-9, and several math punctuation marks.

Code 39 uses the asterisk (*) as its start and stop bars, and it doesn’t require a check digit (though one is available if needed). My name would be encoded as *JERRY*. When scanned, it would decode as JERRY

Code 39, a.k.a. Code 3 of 9, can encode the lower 128 ASCII characters if Code 39 Full ASCII mode is used. Clever trick; two characters are used to represent things like lowercase letters that aren’t in the standard 44 character version of Code 39. The downside is that your barcode is almost twice as long.

Adding a plus sign in front of a letter makes it lower case. *J+E+R+R+Y* decodes as Jerry, not JERRY. But you pay the price for lowercase: 11 characters vs. 7 characters. And of course the more Full ASCII characters you use, the wider your barcode is.

At Azalea Software we offer free barcode tattoo artwork. Looking for a barcode tattoo? Let us help you with the barcode image itself. If it’s a short string we often do it in Code 39. Longer strings, Code 128.

Personally, I like Code 39. It was the barcode of choice when I first started writing barcode software 20+ years ago. It’s been eclipsed by Code 128 but when I see it, C39 still makes me smile. Hey, you know those reallllly long barcodes on luggage tags at the airport? Code 39.