Using "BY" Command With "BCN" Command ...

[hauschild]

Guys,

We've got a client who's got a client that is requesting the SSCC (Serial Shipping Container) barcode to be exactly 1 1/4 inches in height and 3 1/8 inches in width. This also enables another requirement to be met, which is at least 1/4 inch "quiet zone" pre and post barcode.

The problem I run into is since the SSCC value is always going to be 20 bytes, using the "2.0" parameter in conjunction with the "BY" command is too short, and using "3.0" produces a barcode too wide.

From everything I've tested and read, the "BY" command's parameter only allows for whole numbers - not values such as "2.3".

Is there any way around this for the BCN barcode type???

 

[bmilleridentco]

Hi,
The dpi of the printhead will determine how the width of the barcode is calculated. The "w" parameter of the ^BY command is specifying the number of dots to use to create the width of the narrow bar.
On a 203dpi printhead the dot size is .005 so narrow bar widths will be limited to multiples of .005. The dot size of a 300dpi printhead is .003 so you are stuck with multiples of .003. This will explain why one setting may be too wide and another setting not wide enough. There really is no way around the physical characteristic of the printhead.
Hope that helps. - BOB -