The Microvellum reports support a variety of barcode fonts to match the scanning requirements of many popular barcode scanning devices. The two fonts most often used are “3 of 9” (referred to as “Code 39” in this article), and “Code 128b.”
This article explains some of the similarities and differences between the two and how to install them on your system.
The most obvious symptom that you don’t have the correct font installed is that your report or label displays a barcode string in text instead of in a barcode font. This is an indication that you do not have the font Code 39 installed. This is not commonly a symptom of a missing font “Code 128b” as that font uses a different component within the Report Designer.
Some Users inquire about why the need for two fonts when traditionally Microvellum has used only Code 39. The answer is the evolution of CNC machinery software. Previously, much of that software was unable to process file names containing certain ASCII characters. As a result, we were able to use Code 39, which is understood by many to be the easiest of the alpha-numeric barcodes to use. It defines 43 characters, but not the full ASCII character set.
On the other hand, Code 128b supports all 128 ASCII characters. It also has a much higher density than Code 39 and supports smaller barcodes. Thus, as CNC software has become more sophisticated, this font supports the ability to produce and display more complex file names.
In general, if you are scanning barcode strings containing only numbers and letters, you may safely use Code 39. On the other hand, if you will be scanning barcode strings containing characters other than numbers and letters, we suggest you use Code 128b.
Click here for a tutorial explaining how to install and use these two barcode fonts in Microvellum reports.