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Appendix C
Code 39 Specifications
Code 39 (or Code 3 of 9) is the de facto standard of non-retail American
industry. It is widely used in the automotive industry (AIAG specifications)
as well as in government and military applications (LOGMARS specifi-
cations). Code 39 is flexible, features a large character set, variable data
length and density, and bi-directional readability. Code 39 is extremely
accurate; substitution errors are almost nonexistent. Its character set
consists of numbers 0 through 9, upper case A-Z, and characters Space, $,
%. / + and -.
The name "Code 39" comes from both the fact that its
character set originally contained 39 characters (it
now has 43) and from its structure. Each character is
formed of three wide and six narrow elements, made
up of five bars and four spaces. Code 39's density can
vary from a low of .75 characters per inch (cpi) to a
high of 9.4 cpi. There should be a ¼" "quiet zone"
(white space) to the left and right of the bar code.
Code 39 uses an asterisk (*) as a start and stop character. This character
must precede and follow the data in the bar code. The RF Terminal gives
you the option of transmitting or not transmitting these characters when the
bar code is read.
Exact specifications for Code 39 and other bar code symbologies can be
obtained from ANSI at the address below:
American National Standards Institute
Customer Service
11 West 42
nd
St.
New York, NY 10036
http://web.ansi.org
document ANSI/AIM BC1-1995
Code 39 has several advanced features and functions that are discussed
further in this appendix.
*C39*