Barcode

Overview

Compatible with PDF, ODT, ODS, ODP, ODG, PPTX, XLSX, DOCX, and HTML files

Carbone supports 107 barcodes.

There are two ways to insert a barcode:

• As a dynamic image: the recommended solution for generating industry-standard barcodes.
• As a font: the previous solution, which is not recommended, and only supports 4 barcodes.

Both solutions require the :barcode(type) tag in the template. Check the examples below for each method.

Get inspired by one of our real-life examples: Barcode Label, Ticket or E-Ticket

Barcodes as image

Generating a barcode as an image follows the same logic as dynamic pictures and involves three steps:

1. Insert a temporary picture in your template. This will help Carbone determine where to insert the barcode.
2. Write the Carbone tag (ex. {d.value:barcode(type)}) followed by the barcode formatter in the alternative text, description, or title of the image. Refer to the dynamic pictures documentation for details.
3. Specify the type of barcode as the first argument of the :barcode formatter. Check the list of supported barcodes. Finally, generate the document, and voilà!

Barcode options are available and can be passed to the :barcode formatter as additional arguments, such as :barcode(type, options1, options2, ...). See the list of barcode options for details.

Supported barcodes

Barcode name	Type
EAN-5 (5 digit addon)	ean5
EAN-2 (2 digit addon)	ean2
EAN-13	ean13
EAN-8	ean8
UPC-A	upca
UPC-E	upce
ISBN	isbn
ISMN	ismn
ISSN	issn
Code 128	code128
GS1-128	gs1-128
GS1-14	ean14
SSCC-18	sscc18
Code 39	code39
Code 39 Extended	code39ext
Italian Pharmacode	code32
Pharmazentralnummer (PZN)	pzn
Code 93	code93
Code 93 Extended	code93ext
Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF)	interleaved2of5
ITF-14	itf14
Deutsche Post Identcode	identcode
Deutsche Post Leitcode	leitcode
GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional	databaromni
GS1 DataBar Stacked	databarstacked
GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional	databarstackedomni
GS1 DataBar Truncated	databartruncated
GS1 DataBar Limited	databarlimited
GS1 DataBar Expanded	databarexpanded
GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked	databarexpandedstacked
GS1 North American Coupon	gs1northamericancoupon
Pharmaceutical Binary Code	pharmacode
Two-track Pharmacode	pharmacode2
Code 25	code2of5
Industrial 2 of 5	industrial2of5
IATA 2 of 5	iata2of5
Matrix 2 of 5	matrix2of5
COOP 2 of 5	coop2of5
Datalogic 2 of 5	datalogic2of5
Code 11	code11
BC412	bc412
Codabar	rationalizedCodabar
USPS Intelligent Mail	onecode
USPS POSTNET	postnet
USPS PLANET	planet
Royal Mail 4 State Customer Code	royalmail
AusPost 4 State Customer Code	auspost
Royal Dutch TPG Post KIX	kix
Japan Post 4 State Customer Code	japanpost
MSI Modified Plessey	msi
Plessey UK	plessey
Telepen	telepen
Telepen Numeric	telepennumeric
PosiCode	posicode
Codablock F	codablockf
Code 16K	code16k
Code 49	code49
Channel Code	channelcode
Flattermarken	flattermarken
Custom 1D symbology	raw
Custom 4 state symbology	daft
Miscellaneous symbols	symbol
PDF417	pdf417
Compact PDF417	pdf417compact
MicroPDF417	micropdf417
Data Matrix	datamatrix
Data Matrix Rectangular	datamatrixrectangular
Data Matrix Rectangular Extension	datamatrixrectangularextension
Royal Mail Mailmark	mailmark
QR Code	qrcode
Swiss QR Code	swissqrcode
Micro QR Code	microqrcode
Rectangular Micro QR Code	rectangularmicroqrcode
MaxiCode	maxicode
Aztec Code	azteccode
Compact Aztec Code	azteccodecompact
Aztec Runes	aztecrune
Code One	codeone
Han Xin Code	hanxin
DotCode	dotcode
Ultracode	ultracode
GS1 Composite 2D Component	gs1-cc
EAN-13 Composite	ean13composite
EAN-8 Composite	ean8composite
UPC-A Composite	upcacomposite
UPC-E Composite	upcecomposite
GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional Composite	databaromnicomposite
GS1 DataBar Stacked Composite	databarstackedcomposite
GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional Composite	databarstackedomnicomposite
GS1 DataBar Truncated Composite	databartruncatedcomposite
GS1 DataBar Limited Composite	databarlimitedcomposite
GS1 DataBar Expanded Composite	databarexpandedcomposite
GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked Composite	databarexpandedstackedcomposite
GS1-128 Composite	gs1-128composite
GS1 Data Matrix	gs1datamatrix
GS1 Data Matrix Rectangular	gs1datamatrixrectangular
GS1 QR Code	gs1qrcode
GS1 DotCode	gs1dotcode
HIBC Code 39	hibccode39
HIBC Code 128	hibccode128
HIBC Data Matrix	hibcdatamatrix
HIBC Data Matrix Rectangular	hibcdatamatrixrectangular
HIBC PDF417	hibcpdf417
HIBC MicroPDF417	hibcmicropdf417
HIBC QR Code	hibcqrcode
HIBC Codablock F	hibccodablockf
HIBC Aztec Code	hibcazteccode

Barcodes options

Options must be passed as a second argument in any order, and must keep the format "optionName:value", such as: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, width:300, height:100, includetext:false, scale:1)}.

Option name	Type	Description
svg	boolean	Generate SVG images (no pixels) Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, svg:true)}
width	integer	Width of the barcode in millimeters, maximum 1000 (a bigger value is ignored). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, width:300)} Can be combined with :imageFit, e.g., {d.number:barcode(qrcode, width:300):imageFit(contain)}
height	integer	Height of the barcode in millimeters, maximum 1000 (a bigger value is ignored). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, height:10)}
scale	integer	Barcode quality (1-10). Multiplies width and height for higher resolution. The final image cannot exceed 25 million pixels: width:1000, height:1000 works with scale:1 only. Above the limit, the barcode is replaced by the error image. Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, scale:3)}
includetext	boolean	Display the text (true/false). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, includetext:false)}
textsize	integer	Size of the text in points, maximum 100 (a bigger value is ignored). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, textsize:20)}
textxalign	string	Horizontal alignment of text: left, center, right, or justify (default: center). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, textxalign:right)}
textyalign	string	Vertical alignment of text: below, center, or above (default: below). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, textyalign:above)}
rotate	string	Rotate the barcode/text: N (no rotation), R (90° right), L (90° left), I (180°). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, rotate:R)}
barcolor	string	Color of the bars in hexadecimal #RRGGBB. Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, barcolor:#1FDE25)}
textcolor	string	Color of the text in hexadecimal #RRGGBB. Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, textcolor:#1FDE25)}
backgroundcolor	string	Background color in hexadecimal #RRGGBB. Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, backgroundcolor:#1FDE25)}
eclevel	string	Error correction level for QR codes: L (Low), M (Medium, default), Q (Quality), H (High). Example: {d.number:barcode(qrcode, eclevel:Q)}

DOCX Barcode Example

Insert one temporary picture per barcode, then write the tag in its alternative text (right-click the picture > Edit Alt Text, or View Alt Text). This product label has three barcodes: an EAN-13 for retail checkout, a QR code that opens the setup guide, and a GS1-128 with the GTIN and serial number for logistics.

• Tags in the alternative text: {d.ean:barcode(ean13, scale:6)}, {d.url:barcode(qrcode, scale:6)} and {d.gs1:barcode(gs1-128, scale:6)}.
• Write GS1-128 values with the Application Identifiers in parentheses: (01) for the GTIN, (21) for the serial number.
• Carbone keeps the width of the temporary picture and sets the height from the barcode. Give the picture the proportions of the barcode, or add :imageFit(contain) to fit the barcode inside it.
• scale sets the resolution, from 1 to 10 (3 by default). At these sizes, scale:6 keeps the bars sharp in print.

HTML Barcode Example

To inject a barcode in HTML templates, insert a Carbone tag within the src attribute of an image tag, and chain it with the :barcode formatter, specifying the type as an argument. For example, this will inject the barcode as a Data-URI in SVG format:

<html>
  <body>
    <h3> QR-CODE: </h3>
    <img src="{d.code:barcode(qrcode)}" alt="Barcode" width="200" height="200">
  </body>
</html>

You can adjust the dimensions of the barcode in two ways:

• Using the <img> Tag: Set the width and height attributes directly on the <img> tag.
• Using the Barcode Tag: Specify dimensions within the barcode tag options, in millimeters, for example: {d.code:barcode(qrcode, width:30, height:30)}. See the barcode options.

Barcodes as font

We recommend using the Barcodes as Image solution instead of this older font method.

Fonts support 4 barcodes. Install the font of each type on the computer that edits the template:

Type	Font	Download
ean13, ean8	Code EAN13	ean13.ttf
code39	Code 3 de 9	code39.ttf
code128 (ean128 is the same code)	Code 128	code128.ttf

Barcodes as font example

Write the tag, then apply the barcode font and size to its opening {, or to the whole tag. Carbone replaces the tag with characters that the font draws as bars, in the format of that first bracket: the rest of the tag can stay readable in the template.

• Tags: {d.ean13:barcode(ean13)}, {d.ean8:barcode(ean8)}, {d.sku:barcode(code39)} and {d.serial:barcode(code128)}.
• Send EAN values with all their digits, check digit included: 13 for ean13, 8 for ean8. Code 39 accepts uppercase letters, digits, spaces and - . $ / + %. An invalid value prints nothing.
• The EAN font prints the digits under the bars. The Code 39 and Code 128 fonts print bars only: add the value as text, like {d.sku} here.
• Converting the report, to PDF for example, needs the fonts on the converter.