Overview

The code 39 symbology is discrete, variable length, and self-checking. It can encode full 128 character ASCII by using shift combinations. Its character set is similar to Code 93 but its symbols have lower density.

Invoking

• The data field can hold any of the following:

  • Numbers 0-9
  • Capital letters A-Z
  • Symbols -.$/+%* and <space>
• The includecheck option calculates the mod 43 check digit
• The hidestars option suppresses the asterisks in the human readable text

Example Code 39

0 0 moveto (TERRY) (includecheck) code39 barcode

Example Code 39 Extended

To encode extended characters it is necessary to use "shift" combinations. The list of 'shifted' character combinations for full ASCII is given below.

To encode the data string "Terri<BS>y" (where <BS> represents a backspace):

0 0 moveto (T+E+R+R+I$H+Y) (includecheck) code39 barcode

Shift Combinations for Code 39

Symbol Shift pattern
------ -------------
NUL    %U
SOH    $A
STX    $B
ETX    $C
EOT    $D
ENQ    $E
ACK    $F
BEL    $G
BS     $H
HT     $I
LF     $J
VT     $K
FF     $L
CR     $M
SO     $N
SI     $O
DLE    $P
DC1    $Q
DC2    $R
DC3    $S
DC4    $T
NAK    $U
SYN    $V
ETB    $W
CAN    $X
EM     $Y
SUB    $Z
ESC    %A
FS     %B
GS     %C
RS     %D
US     %E
!      /A
"      /B
#      /C
$      /D possibly $
%      /E possibly %
&      /F
'      /G
(      /H
)      /I
*      /J
+      /K possibly +
,      /L
-      /M better to use -
.      /N better to use .
/      /O possibly /
0      /P better to use 0
1      /Q better to use 1
2      /R better to use 2
3      /S better to use 3
4      /T better to use 4
5      /U better to use 5
6      /V better to use 6
7      /W better to use 7
8      /X better to use 8
9      /Y better to use 9
:      /Z
;      %F
<      %G
=      %H
>      %I
?      %J
@      %V
[      %K
\      %L
]      %M
^      %N
_      %O
`      %W
a      +A
b      +B
c      +C
d      +D
e      +E
f      +F
g      +G
h      +H
i      +I
j      +J
k      +K
l      +L
m      +M
n      +N
o      +O
p      +P
q      +Q
r      +R
s      +S
t      +T
u      +U
v      +V
w      +W
x      +X
y      +Y
z      +Z
{      %P
|      %Q
}      %R
tilde  %S
DEL    %T (best) or %X or %Y or %Z