Code 128 is a high-density barcode symbology that allows the encoding of numeric and character data. It provides a facility to encode 128 characters of ASCII. It contains a checksum digit for verification and verified character by character.
The Code 128 barcode has been widely implemented in various applications where large amounts of data must be encoded, including 0–9 digits, A–Z letters, and all standard ASCII symbols and control codes. Code 128 is divided into three subsets: SET A, SET B, and SET C.
Code 128 SET C Barcode Font includes only numeric data. Barcode maker tool helps you to easily create barcode font images with specific value, header, footer, size, font style etc. Software has print option to print designed Code 128 SET C barcode font with pre define label stock or manual mode accordingly.
Application area: widely used in the shipping and packaging industries for product identification.
Sample of Code 128 SET C Barcode Font designed by Corporate Edition Barcode Software.
Symbol Structure of Code 128 SET C
- Start character
- Symbolic characters that represent data
- Check character
- Stop character
- Quiet zone
Symbol characters: Most barcode symbologies print bars and spaces at only two widths, wide and narrow, but Code 128 uses four different widths, as does the UPC/EAN. UPC/EAN barcode uses four elements—two bars and two spaces—per character, each Code 128 character is represented by six elements—three bars and three spaces. Despite the 50% reduction in character density, Code 128 can represent all 128 ASCII characters. Also, unlike UPC and EAN, Code 128 is not limited to numbers only.
Start character: Code 128 has three different start characters, one for each of the three character code sets, such as Code Set A, Code Set B, and Code Set C. The start character that will be used for a given barcode depends on what characters need to be encoded in that portion of the barcode.
Features of Code 128 SET C
- Supports all types of characters.
- It allows the barcode to be as small as possible for an indication with only numeric values. (More than 12 digits).
- Begins to be used as GS1-128 in each industry, such as distribution business, food industry, medical industry, and so on.
- It can store almost all the special characters.
- Code 128 increases data security for encoded data and reduces the possibility of scanning errors.
- It is compact and can store a large amount of data in a small amount of space.
- It is widely used in combination with code 39 in all advanced brick-and-mortar companies.
Limitations of Code 128 SET C
- The most advanced scanners are required to scan these Code 128 barcodes.
- Code 128 is very challenging to print because it contains four distinct width variants for each character.
- Code 128 utilizes four different bar sizes, and therefore, it requires high-quality printers to print out labels such as Dot matrix and ink-jet printers. Flexographic printing on corrugated cardboard is not supported either.
- It has four different width variations for each encoded character, so it is not easy to print a barcode.