Scanner won't read a printed barcode

[mloweumich]

We are using Symbol LS2208 handheld barcode scanners. We have scanned everything in our office with them (just for fun) with no problems (we scan into Word or Excel). We have scanned drivers licenses, water bottles, codes on labels printed from a Datamax iClass printer, and labels printed some time ago from office printers. When I create my own codes in Word (IDAutomation39 Font) and print them, the scanners don't recognize them. What am I missing? Is it the paper, ink, something else? Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
It has to be something easy that I've missed.
Thanks.
ml

 

[jadams0173]

try putting a * at the beginning and end of your string.

a barcode for 123 would have human readable of *123*

 

[mloweumich]

Attention jadams0173:

YESS-sss. Thanks so much. That did the trick. If you are interested in posting a little bit about why that works, that would be super (does it have something to do with using code 39?). I'm not very technical though, so if it can be simple, great.

Many, many thanks!

ml

 

[DansDadUK]

For a Code 39 barcode, the codepoint associated with the ASCII character "*" is mapped, in your font, to a symbol which is used as both the "Start" and "Stop" character.

The Code 39 symbology requires that a Code 39 symbol includes these characters.
The specification also allows for an optional "checksum" character, which (if present) precedes the "Stop" character.

Calculating a checksum character requires some knowledge of the symbology; see the Wiki entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_39

for an introduction.

Other barcode symbologies are rather more complex; see, for example, the Wiki entry

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_128

for the Code 128 barcode symbology.

In general, with most barcodes, the input data character codepoints are NOT the same as the codepoints used to select characters in the associated font; i.e. there is usually a degree of data translation and/or calulation required.

 

[jadams0173]

Well said DansDadUK!

mloweumich, did that help as to why?