Manual

Zint Barcode Generator and Zint Barcode Studio User Manual
Version 2.12.0
December 2022
Contents
1. Introduction 6
1.1 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. Installing Zint 8
2.1 Linux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 Microsoft Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.3 Apple macOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4 Zint Tcl Backend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3. Using Zint Barcode Studio 10

3.1 Main Window and Data Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.2 GS1 Composite Groupbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.3 Additional ECI/Data Segments Groupbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.4 Symbology-specific Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.5 Appearance Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.6 Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.7 Sequence Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.8 Export Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.9 CLI Equivalent Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4. Using the Command Line 18

4.1 Inputting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.2 Directing Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.3 Selecting Barcode Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.4 Adjusting Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4.5 Adjusting Whitespace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.6 Adding Boundary Bars and Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
4.7 Using Colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4.8 Rotating the Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.9 Adjusting Image Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.9.1 Scaling by X-dimension and Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
4.9.2 Scaling Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.9.3 MaxiCode Raster Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.10 Input Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.10.1 Unicode, Data, and GS1 Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.10.2 Input Modes and ECI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.10.2.1 Input Modes and ECI Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
4.11 Batch Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
4.12 Direct Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
4.13 Automatic Filenames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.14 Working with Dots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.15 Multiple Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.16 Structured Append . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
4.17 Help Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
4.18 Other Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
5. Using the API 32

5.1 Creating and Deleting Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.2 Encoding and Saving to File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.3 Encoding and Printing Functions in Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.4 Buffering Symbols in Memory (raster) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
5.5 Buffering Symbols in Memory (vector) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.6 Setting Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.7 Handling Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
5.8 Specifying a Symbology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.9 Adjusting Other Output Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5.10 Setting the Input Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
2
5.11 Multiple Segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
5.12 Scaling Helpers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
5.13 Verifying Symbology Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.14 Checking Symbology Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
5.15 Zint Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
6. Types of Symbology 43
6.1 One-Dimensional Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.1.1 Code 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.1.2 Code 2 of 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.1.2.1 Standard Code 2 of 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.1.2.2 IATA Code 2 of 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
6.1.2.3 Industrial Code 2 of 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.1.2.4 Interleaved Code 2 of 5 (ISO 16390) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.1.2.5 Code 2 of 5 Data Logic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.1.2.6 ITF-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
6.1.2.7 Deutsche Post Leitcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.1.2.8 Deutsche Post Identcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
6.1.3 UPC (Universal Product Code) (ISO 15420) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.1.3.1 UPC Version A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.1.3.2 UPC Version E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
6.1.4 EAN (European Article Number) (ISO 15420) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6.1.4.1 EAN-2, EAN-5, EAN-8 and EAN-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
6.1.4.2 SBN, ISBN and ISBN-13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.1.5 Plessey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.1.5.1 UK Plessey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.1.5.2 MSI Plessey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
6.1.6 Telepen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.1.6.1 Telepen Alpha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.1.6.2 Telepen Numeric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.1.7 Code 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.1.7.1 Standard Code 39 (ISO 16388) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
6.1.7.2 Extended Code 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.1.7.3 Code 93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.1.7.4 PZN (Pharmazentralnummer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.1.7.5 LOGMARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
6.1.7.6 Code 32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.1.7.7 HIBC Code 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.1.7.8 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.1.8 Codabar (EN 798) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
6.1.9 Pharmacode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6.1.10 Code 128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6.1.10.1 Standard Code 128 (ISO 15417) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6.1.10.2 Code 128 Suppress Subset C (Subsets A and B only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6.1.10.3 GS1-128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
6.1.10.4 EAN-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6.1.10.5 NVE-18 (SSCC-18) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6.1.10.6 HIBC Code 128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
6.1.10.7 DPD Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6.1.10.8 UPU S10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6.1.11 GS1 DataBar (ISO 24724) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.11.1 GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional and GS1 DataBar Truncated . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.11.2 GS1 DataBar Limited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.11.3 GS1 DataBar Expanded . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
6.1.12 Korea Post Barcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.1.13 Channel Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.1.14 BC412 (SEMI T1-95) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6.2 Stacked Symbologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.2.1 Basic Symbol Stacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.2.2 Codablock-F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
6.2.3 Code 16K (EN 12323) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
3
6.2.4 PDF417 (ISO 15438) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.2.5 Compact PDF417 (ISO 15438) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
6.2.6 MicroPDF417 (ISO 24728) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2.7 GS1 DataBar Stacked (ISO 24724) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2.7.1 GS1 DataBar Stacked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2.7.2 GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2.7.3 GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6.2.8 Code 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
6.3 GS1 Composite Symbols (ISO 24723) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.3.1 CC-A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.3.2 CC-B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.3.3 CC-C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
6.4 Two-Track Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.4.1 Two-Track Pharmacode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.4.2 POSTNET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.4.3 PLANET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.4.4 Brazilian CEPNet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.5 4-State Postal Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.1 Australia Post 4-State Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.1.1 Customer Barcodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.1.2 Reply Paid Barcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.1.3 Routing Barcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.1.4 Redirect Barcode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6.5.2 Dutch Post KIX Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.5.3 Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code (RM4SCC) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.5.4 Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.5.5 USPS Intelligent Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.5.6 Japanese Postal Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.5.7 DAFT Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
6.6 Matrix Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6.6.1 Data Matrix (ISO 16022) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
6.6.2 Royal Mail 2D Mailmark (CMDM) (Data Matrix) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
6.6.3 QR Code (ISO 18004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6.6.4 Micro QR Code (ISO 18004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6.6.5 Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR) (ISO 23941) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
6.6.6 UPNQR (Univerzalnega Plačilnega Naloga QR) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
6.6.7 MaxiCode (ISO 16023) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
6.6.8 Aztec Code (ISO 24778) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.6.9 Aztec Runes (ISO 24778) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.6.10 Code One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
6.6.11 Grid Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
6.6.12 DotCode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.6.13 Han Xin Code (ISO 20830) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
6.6.14 Ultracode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
6.7 Other Barcode-Like Markings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6.7.1 Facing Identification Mark (FIM) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
6.7.2 Flattermarken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
7. Legal and Version Information 80

7.1 License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.2 Patent Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.3 Version Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.4 Sources of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
7.5 Standards Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.5.1 Symbology Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.5.2 General Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Annex A. Character Encoding 82

A.1 ASCII Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
A.2 Latin Alphabet No. 1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4
Annex B. Man Page ZINT(1) 83
NAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
SYNOPSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
DESCRIPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
EXIT STATUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
EXAMPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
BUGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
SEE ALSO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
CONFORMING TO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
COPYRIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
AUTHOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
5
1. Introduction
The Zint project aims to provide a complete cross-platform open source barcode generating solution. The pack-
age currently consists of a Qt based GUI, a CLI command line executable and a library with an API to allow
developers access to the capabilities of Zint. It is hoped that Zint provides a solution which is flexible enough
for professional users while at the same time takes care of as much of the processing as possible to allow easy
translation from input data to barcode image.
The library which forms the main component of the Zint project is currently able to encode data in over 50
barcode symbologies (types of barcode), for each of which it is possible to translate that data from either UTF-
8 (Unicode) or a raw 8-bit data stream. The image can be rendered as either a Portable Network Graphic (PNG)
image, Windows Bitmap (BMP), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), ZSoft Paintbrush image (PCX), Tagged
Image File Format (TIF), Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF), as Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), or as a Scalable
Vector Graphic (SVG). Many options are available for setting the characteristics of the output image including
the size and colour of the image, the amount of error correction used in the symbol and the orientation of the
image.
1.1 Glossary
Some of the words and phrases used in this document are specific to barcoding, and so a brief explanation is
given to help understanding:
symbol
A symbol is an image which encodes data according to one of the standards. This encompasses barcodes
(linear symbols) as well as any of the other methods of representing data used in this program.
symbology
A method of encoding data to create a certain type of symbol.
linear
A linear or one-dimensional symbol is one which consists of bars and spaces, and is what most people
associate with the term ‘barcode’. Examples include Code 128.
stacked
A stacked symbol consists of multiple linear symbols placed one above another and which together hold
the message, usually alongside some error correction data. Examples include PDF417.
matrix
A matrix symbol is one based on a (usually square) grid of elements called modules. Examples include
Data Matrix, but MaxiCode and DotCode are also considered matrix symbologies.
composite
A composite symbology is one which is made up of elements which are both linear and stacked. Those
currently supported are made up of a linear ‘primary’ message above which is printed a stacked compo-
nent based on the PDF417 symbology. These symbols also have a separator which separates the linear and
the stacked components. The stacked component is most often referred to as the 2D (two-dimensional)
component.
X-dimension
The X-dimension of a symbol is the size (usually the width) of the smallest element. For a linear symbol-
ogy this is the width of the smallest bar. For matrix symbologies it is the width of the smallest module
(usually a square). Barcode widths and heights are expressed in multiples of the X-dimension. Most
linear symbologies can have their height varied whereas most matrix symbologies have a fixed width-to-
height ratio where the height is determined by the width.
GS1 data
This is a structured way of representing information which consists of ‘chunks’ of data, each of which
starts with an Application Identifier (AI). The AI identifies what type of information is being encoded.
Reader Initialisation (Programming)
6
Some symbologies allow a special character to be included which can be detected by the scanning equip-
ment as signifying that the data is used to program or change settings in that equipment. This data is
usually not passed on to the software which handles normal input data. This feature should only be used
if you are familiar with the programming codes relevant to your scanner.
ECI
The Extended Channel Interpretations (ECI) mechanism allows for multi-language data to be encoded
in symbols which would usually support only Latin-1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1 plus ASCII) characters. This can
be useful, for example, if you need to encode Cyrillic characters, but should be used with caution as not
all scanners support this method.
Two other concepts that are important are raster and vector.
raster
A low level bitmap representation of an image. BMP, GIF, PCX, PNG and TIF are raster file formats.
vector
A high level command- or data-based representation of an image. EMF, EPS and SVG are vector file
formats. They require renderers to turn them into bitmaps.
7
2. Installing Zint
2.1 Linux
The easiest way to configure compilation is to take advantage of the CMake utilities. You will need to install
CMake and libpng-dev first. For instance on apt systems:
sudo apt install git cmake build-essential libpng-dev
If you want to take advantage of Zint Barcode Studio you will also need to have Qt and its component "Desktop
gcc 64-bit" installed, as well as mesa. For details see "README.linux" in the project root directory.
Once you have fulfilled these requirements unzip the source code tarball or clone the latest source
git clone https://git.code.sf.net/p/zint/code zint
and follow these steps in the top directory:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make
sudo make install
The CLI command line program can be accessed by typing

zint [options]
The GUI can be accessed by typing

zint-qt
To test that the installation has been successful a shell script is included in the "frontend" sub-directory. To
run the test type
./test.sh
This should create numerous files in the sub-directory "frontend/test_sh_out" showing the many modes of
operation which are available from Zint.
2.2 Microsoft Windows

For Microsoft Windows, Zint is distributed as a binary executable. Simply download the ZIP file, then right-
click on the ZIP file and "Extract All". A new folder will be created within which are two binary files:
• qtZint.exe - Zint Barcode Studio
• zint.exe - Command Line Interface
For fresh releases you will get a warning message from Microsoft Defender SmartScreen that this is an ‘un-
recognised app’. This happens because Zint is a free and open-source software project with no advertising and
hence no income, meaning we are not able to afford the $664 per year to have the application digitally signed
by Microsoft.
To build Zint on Windows from source, see "win32/README".
2.3 Apple macOS

The latest Zint CLI and libzint can be installed using Homebrew.1 To install Homebrew input the following
line into the macOS terminal
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Once Homebrew is installed use the following command to install the Zint.
brew install zint
To build from source see "README.macos" in the project root directory.

1
See the Homebrew website https://brew.sh.
8
2.4 Zint Tcl Backend
The Tcl backend in the "backend_tcl" sub-directory may be built using the provided TEA (Tcl Extension Ar-
chitecture) build on Linux, Windows, macOS and Android. For Windows, an MSVC6 makefile is also available.
9
3. Using Zint Barcode Studio
Zint Barcode Studio is the graphical user interface for Zint. If you are starting from a command line interface
you can start the GUI by typing
zint-qt
or on Windows
qtZint.exe
See the note in section 2.2 Microsoft Windows about Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.
Below is a brief guide to Zint Barcode Studio.
3.1 Main Window and Data Tab
Figure 1: Zint Barcode Studio on startup - main window with Data tab
This is the main window of Zint Barcode Studio. The top of the window shows a preview of the barcode which
the current settings would create. These settings can be changed using the controls below. The text box in the
"Data to Encode" groupbox on this first Data tab allows you to enter the data to be encoded. When you are
happy with your settings you can use the "Save As" button to save the resulting image to a file.
The "Symbology" drop-down box gives access to all of the symbologies supported by Zint shown in alphabetical
order. The text box to its right can filter the drop-down to only show matching symbologies. For instance typing
"mail" will only show barcodes in the drop-down whose names contain the word "mail". Each word entered
will match. So typing "mail post" will show barcodes whose names contain "mail" or "post" (or both).
The ellipsis button "..." to the right of the data text box invokes the Data Dialog - see 3.6 Data Dialog for details.
The delete button next to it will clear the data text box and the ECI (Extended Channel Interpretations) drop-
down if set.
10
To set the barcode as a Programming Initialisation symbol click the "Reader Init" checkbox. The "1234.."
button to its right invokes the Sequence Dialog - see 3.7 Sequence Dialog. The zap button will clear all data
and reset all settings for the barcode to defaults.
The "BMP" and "SVG" buttons at the bottom will copy the image to the clipboard in BMP format and SVG format
respectively. Further copy-to-clipboard formats are available by clicking the "Menu" button, along with "CLI
Equivalent", "Save As", "Factory Reset", "Help", "About" and "Quit" options. Most of the options are
also available in a context menu by right-clicking the preview.
Figure 2: Zint Barcode Studio main menu (left) and context menu (right)
3.2 GS1 Composite Groupbox
Figure 3: Zint Barcode Studio encoding GS1 Composite data
11
In the middle of the Data tab is an area for creating composite symbologies which appears when the currently
selected symbology is supported by the GS1 Composite symbology standard. GS1 data can then be entered
with square brackets used to separate Application Identifier (AI) information from data as shown here. For
details, see 6.3 GS1 Composite Symbols (ISO 24723).
3.3 Additional ECI/Data Segments Groupbox
Figure 4: Zint Barcode Studio encoding multiple segments
For symbologies that support ECIs (Extended Channel Interpretations) the middle of the Data tab is an area
for entering additional data segments with their own ECIs. Up to 4 segments (including the main "Data to
Encode" as segment 0) may be specified. See 4.15 Multiple Segments for details.
12
3.4 Symbology-specific Tab
Figure 5: Zint Barcode Studio showing Aztec Code options
For a number of symbologies extra options are available to fine-tune the format, appearance and content of the
symbol generated. These are given in a second tab.
Here the method is shown for adjusting the size or error correction level of an Aztec Code symbol, selecting
how its data is to be treated, and setting it as part of a Structured Append sequence of symbols.
13
3.5 Appearance Tab
Figure 6: Zint Barcode Studio showing Appearance tab options
The Appearance tab can be used to adjust the dimensions and other properties of the symbol.
The "Height" value affects the height of symbologies which do not have a fixed width-to-height ratio, i.e. those
other than matrix symbologies. For such symbologies the "Automatic Height" checkbox will be enabled -
uncheck this to manually adjust the height. The "Compliant Height" checkbox applies to symbologies that
define a standard height - see 4.4 Adjusting Height.
Boundary bars can be added with the "Border Type" drop-down and their size adjusted with "Border Width",
and whitespace can be adjusted both horizontally (first spinbox) and vertically (second spinbox), and also
through the "Quiet Zones" checkbox if standard quiet zones are defined for the symbology.
The size of the saved image can be specified with "Printing Scale", and also by clicking the icon to invoke
the “Set Printing Scale” dialog - see 4.9 Adjusting Image Size for further details.
Figure 7: Adjusting the Print Size
14
The foreground and background colours can be set either using the text boxes which accept RRGGBBAA hex-
adecimal values or by clicking the foreground eye and background eye buttons which invoke a colour
picker.
Figure 8: The colour picker tool
(Note that to change the colours visually, the luminence slider, the long narrow column on the right, must be
adjusted.)
Back in the Appearance tab, the colours can be reset to black-on-white using the "Reset" button, and exchanged
one for the other using the swap button next to it.
3.6 Data Dialog
Figure 9: Entering longer text input
Clicking on the ellipsis "..." button next to the "Data to Encode" text box in the Data tab opens a larger
window which can be used to enter longer strings of text. You can also use this window to load data from a
file.
The dialog is also available for additional ECI/Data segments by clicking the ellipsis button to the right of their
data text boxes.
15
Note that if your data contains line feeds (LF) then the data will be split into separate lines in the dialog box.
On saving the data back to the main text box any separate lines in the data will be escaped as '\n' and the
"Parse Escapes" checkbox will be set. This only affects line feeds, not carriage returns (CR) or CR+LF pairs,
and behaves the same on both Windows and Unix. (For details on escape sequences, see 4.1 Inputting Data.)
3.7 Sequence Dialog
Figure 10: Creating a sequence of barcode symbols
Clicking on the sequence button (labelled "1234..") in the Data tab opens the Sequence Dialog. This allows
you to create multiple barcode images by entering a sequence of data inputs in the right hand panel. Sequences
can also be automatically generated by entering parameters on the left hand side or by importing the data from
a file. Zint will generate a separate barcode image for each line of text in the right hand panel. The format field
determines the format of the automatically generated sequence where characters have the meanings as given
below:
Table : Sequence Format Characters
Character Effect
$ Insert leading zeroes
# Insert leading spaces
* Insert leading asterisks
Any other character Interpreted literally
16
3.8 Export Dialog
Figure 11: Setting filenames for an exported sequence of barcode symbols
The Export Dialog invoked by pressing the "Export" button in the Sequence Dialog sets the parameters for
exporting a sequence of barcode images. Here you can set the filename and the output image format. Note that
the symbology, colour and other formatting information are taken from the main window.
3.9 CLI Equivalent Dialog
Figure 12: CLI Equivalent Dialog
The "CLI Equivalent" dialog can be invoked from the main menu or the context menu and displays the CLI
command that will reproduce the barcode as currently configured in the GUI. Press the "Copy" button to copy
the command to the clipboard, which can then be pasted into the command line.
17
4. Using the Command Line
This section describes how to encode data using the command line frontend program. The examples given are
for the Unix platform, but the same options are available for Windows - just remember to include the executable
file extension if ".EXE" is not in your PATHEXT environment variable, i.e.:
zint.exe -d "This Text"
For compatibility with Windows the examples use double quotes to delimit data, though on Unix single quotes
are generally preferable as they stop the shell from processing any characters such as backslash or dollar. A
single quote itself is dealt with by terminating the single-quoted text, backslashing the single quote, and then
continuing:
zint -d 'Text containing a single quote '\'' in the middle'
Some examples use backslash (\) to continue commands onto the next line. For Windows, use caret (^) instead.
Certain options that take values have short names as well as long ones, namely -b (--barcode), -d (--data),
-i (--input), -o (--output) and -w (--whitesp). For these a space should be used to separate the short name
from its value, to avoid ambiguity. For long names a space or an equals sign may be used. For instance:
zint -d "This Text"
zint --data="This Text"
zint --data "This Text"
The examples use a space separator for short option names, and an equals sign for long option names.
4.1 Inputting Data

The data to encode can be entered at the command line using the -d or --data option, for example
zint -d "This Text"
This will encode the text "This Text". Zint will use the default symbology, Code 128, and output to the default
file "out.png" in the current directory. Alternatively, if libpng was not present when Zint was built, the default
output file will be "out.gif".
The data input to the Zint CLI is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8 (Unicode) format (Zint will correctly handle
UTF-8 data on Windows). If you are encoding characters beyond the 7-bit ASCII set using a scheme other than
UTF-8 then you will need to set the appropriate input options as shown in 4.10 Input Modes below.
Non-printing characters can be entered on the command line using backslash (\) as an escape character in
combination with the --esc switch. Permissible sequences are shown in the table below.
Table : Escape Sequences
Escape ASCII
Sequence Equivalent Name Interpretation
\0 0x00 NUL Null character
\E 0x04 EOT End of Transmission
\a 0x07 BEL Bell
\b 0x08 BS Backspace
\t 0x09 HT Horizontal Tab
\n 0x0A LF Line Feed
\v 0x0B VT Vertical Tab
\f 0x0C FF Form Feed
\r 0x0D CR Carriage Return
\e 0x1B ESC Escape
\G 0x1D GS Group Separator
\R 0x1E RS Record Separator
\\ 0x5C \ Backslash
\dNNN NNN Any 8-bit character where NNN is decimal (0-255)
\xNN 0xNN Any 8-bit character where NN is hexadecimal
18
Escape ASCII
Sequence Equivalent Name Interpretation
\uNNNN Any 16-bit Unicode BMP2 character where NNNN is
hexadecimal
\UNNNNNN Any 21-bit Unicode character where NNNNNN is
hexadecimal (maximum 0x10FFFF)
Input data can be read directly from file using the -i or --input switch as shown below. The input file is
assumed to be UTF-8 formatted unless an alternative mode is selected. This command replaces the use of the
-d switch.
zint -i somefile.txt
Note that except when batch processing (see 4.11 Batch Processing below), the file should not end with a
newline (LF on Unix, CR+LF on Windows) unless you want the newline to be encoded in the symbol.
4.2 Directing Output

Output can be directed to a file other than the default using the -o or --output switch. For example:
zint -o here.png -d "This Text"
This draws a Code 128 barcode in the file "here.png". If an Encapsulated PostScript file is needed simply
append the filename with ".eps", and so on for the other supported file types:
zint -o there.eps -d "This Text"
The filename can contain directories and sub-directories also, which will be created if they don’t already exist:
zint -o "dir/subdir/filename.eps" -d "This Text"
4.3 Selecting Barcode Type

Selecting which type of barcode you wish to produce (i.e. which symbology to use) can be done at the command
line using the -b or --barcode switch followed by the appropriate integer value or name in the following table.
For example to create a Data Matrix symbol you could use:
zint -b 71 -o datamatrix.png -d "Data to encode"
or
zint -b DATAMATRIX -o datamatrix.png -d "Data to encode"
Names are treated case-insensitively by the CLI, and the BARCODE_ prefix and any underscores are optional.
Table : Barcode Types (Symbologies)
Numeric
Value Name3 Barcode Name
1 BARCODE_CODE11 Code 11
2* BARCODE_C25STANDARD Standard Code 2 of 5
3 BARCODE_C25INTER Interleaved 2 of 5
4 BARCODE_C25IATA Code 2 of 5 IATA
6 BARCODE_C25LOGIC Code 2 of 5 Data Logic
7 BARCODE_C25IND Code 2 of 5 Industrial
8 BARCODE_CODE39 Code 3 of 9 (Code 39)
9 BARCODE_EXCODE39 Extended Code 3 of 9 (Code 39+)
13 BARCODE_EANX EAN (EAN-2, EAN-5, EAN-8 and EAN-13)
14 BARCODE_EANX_CHK EAN + Check Digit
16* BARCODE_GS1_128 GS1-128 (UCC.EAN-128)
18 BARCODE_CODABAR Codabar
20 BARCODE_CODE128 Code 128 (automatic subset switching)
2
In Unicode contexts, BMP stands for Basic Multilingual Plane, the plane 0 codeset from U+0000 to U+D7FF and U+E000 to U+FFFF
(i.e. excluding surrogates). Not to be confused with the Windows Bitmap file format BMP!
19
Numeric
Value Name Barcode Name
21 BARCODE_DPLEIT Deutsche Post Leitcode
22 BARCODE_DPIDENT Deutsche Post Identcode
23 BARCODE_CODE16K Code 16K
28 BARCODE_FLAT Flattermarken
29* BARCODE_DBAR_OMN GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional (including GS1 DataBar
Truncated)
30* BARCODE_DBAR_LTD GS1 DataBar Limited
31* BARCODE_DBAR_EXP GS1 DataBar Expanded
32 BARCODE_TELEPEN Telepen Alpha
34 BARCODE_UPCA UPC-A
35 BARCODE_UPCA_CHK UPC-A + Check Digit
37 BARCODE_UPCE UPC-E
38 BARCODE_UPCE_CHK UPC-E + Check Digit
40 BARCODE_POSTNET POSTNET
47 BARCODE_MSI_PLESSEY MSI Plessey
49 BARCODE_FIM FIM
50 BARCODE_LOGMARS LOGMARS
51 BARCODE_PHARMA Pharmacode One-Track
52 BARCODE_PZN PZN
53 BARCODE_PHARMA_TWO Pharmacode Two-Track
54 BARCODE_CEPNET Brazilian CEPNet
55 BARCODE_PDF417 PDF417
56* BARCODE_PDF417COMP Compact PDF417 (Truncated PDF417)
57 BARCODE_MAXICODE MaxiCode
58 BARCODE_QRCODE QR Code
60 BARCODE_CODE128AB Code 128 (Suppress subset C)
63 BARCODE_AUSPOST Australia Post Standard Customer
66 BARCODE_AUSREPLY Australia Post Reply Paid
67 BARCODE_AUSROUTE Australia Post Routing
68 BARCODE_AUSDIRECT Australia Post Redirection
69 BARCODE_ISBNX ISBN (EAN-13 with verification stage)
70 BARCODE_RM4SCC Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code (RM4SCC)
71 BARCODE_DATAMATRIX Data Matrix (ECC200)
72 BARCODE_EAN14 EAN-14
73 BARCODE_VIN Vehicle Identification Number
74 BARCODE_CODABLOCKF Codablock-F
75 BARCODE_NVE18 NVE-18 (SSCC-18)
76 BARCODE_JAPANPOST Japanese Postal Code
77 BARCODE_KOREAPOST Korea Post
79* BARCODE_DBAR_STK GS1 DataBar Stacked
80* BARCODE_DBAR_OMNSTK GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional
81* BARCODE_DBAR_EXPSTK GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
82 BARCODE_PLANET PLANET
84 BARCODE_MICROPDF417 MicroPDF417
85* BARCODE_USPS_IMAIL USPS Intelligent Mail (OneCode)
86 BARCODE_PLESSEY UK Plessey
87 BARCODE_TELEPEN_NUM Telepen Numeric
89 BARCODE_ITF14 ITF-14
90 BARCODE_KIX Dutch Post KIX Code
92 BARCODE_AZTEC Aztec Code
93 BARCODE_DAFT DAFT Code
96 BARCODE_DPD DPD Code
97 BARCODE_MICROQR Micro QR Code
98 BARCODE_HIBC_128 HIBC Code 128
99 BARCODE_HIBC_39 HIBC Code 39
102 BARCODE_HIBC_DM HIBC Data Matrix ECC200
20
Numeric
104 BARCODE_HIBC_QR HIBC QR Code
106 BARCODE_HIBC_PDF HIBC PDF417
108 BARCODE_HIBC_MICPDF HIBC MicroPDF417
110 BARCODE_HIBC_BLOCKF HIBC Codablock-F
112 BARCODE_HIBC_AZTEC HIBC Aztec Code
115 BARCODE_DOTCODE DotCode
116 BARCODE_HANXIN Han Xin (Chinese Sensible) Code
119 BARCODE_MAILMARK_2D Royal Mail 2D Mailmark (CMDM) (Data Matrix)
121 BARCODE_MAILMARK_4S Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark
128 BARCODE_AZRUNE Aztec Runes
130 BARCODE_EANX_CC Composite Symbol with EAN linear component
131* BARCODE_GS1_128_CC Composite Symbol with GS1-128 linear component
132* BARCODE_DBAR_OMN_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional
linear component
133* BARCODE_DBAR_LTD_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Limited linear
component
134* BARCODE_DBAR_EXP_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Expanded linear
component
135 BARCODE_UPCA_CC Composite Symbol with UPC-A linear component
136 BARCODE_UPCE_CC Composite Symbol with UPC-E linear component
137* BARCODE_DBAR_STK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Stacked component
138* BARCODE_DBAR_OMNSTK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Stacked
Omnidirectional component
139* BARCODE_DBAR_EXPSTK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
component
140 BARCODE_CHANNEL Channel Code
141 BARCODE_CODEONE Code One
142 BARCODE_GRIDMATRIX Grid Matrix
143 BARCODE_UPNQR UPNQR (Univerzalnega Plačilnega Naloga QR)
144 BARCODE_ULTRA Ultracode
145 BARCODE_RMQR Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR)
146 BARCODE_BC412 IBM BC412 (SEMI T1-95)
4.4 Adjusting Height

The height of a symbol (except those with a fixed width-to-height ratio) can be adjusted using the --height
switch. For example:
zint --height=100 -d "This Text"
This specifies a symbol height of 100 times the X-dimension of the symbol.
The default height of most linear barcodes is 50X, but this can be changed for barcodes whose specifications
give a standard height by using the switch --compliantheight. For instance
zint -b LOGMARS -d "This Text" --compliantheight
will produce a barcode of height 45.455X instead of the normal default of 50X. The flag also causes Zint to return
a warning if a non-compliant height is given:
zint -b LOGMARS -d "This Text" --compliantheight --height=6.2
Warning 247: Height not compliant with standards
Another switch is --heightperrow, which can be useful for symbologies that have a variable number of linear
rows, namely Codablock-F, Code 16K, Code 49, GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked, MicroPDF417 and PDF417,
3
The symbologies marked with an asterisk (*) in Table : Barcode Types (Symbologies) above used different names in Zint before version
2.9.0. For example, symbology 29 used the name BARCODE_RSS14. These names are now deprecated but are still recognised by Zint and
will continue to be supported in future versions.
21
as it changes the treatment of the height value from overall height to per-row height, allowing you to specify a
consistent height for each linear row without having to know how many there are. For instance
zint -b PDF417 -d "This Text" --height=4 --heightperrow
Figure 13: zint -b PDF417 -d "This Text" --height=4 --heightperrow
will produce a barcode of height 32X, with each of the 8 rows 4X high.
4.5 Adjusting Whitespace

The amount of horizontal whitespace to the left and right of the generated barcode can be altered using the -w
or --whitesp switch. For example:
zint -w 10 -d "This Text"
This specifies a whitespace width of 10 times the X-dimension of the symbol both to the left and to the right of
the barcode.
The amount of vertical whitespace above and below the barcode can be altered using the --vwhitesp switch.
For example for 3 times the X-dimension:
zint --vwhitesp=3 -d "This Text"
Note that the whitespace at the bottom appears below the text, if any.
Horizontal and vertical whitespace can of course be used together:
zint -b DATAMATRIX --whitesp=1 --vwhitesp=1 -d "This Text"
A --quietzones option is also available which adds quiet zones compliant with the symbology’s specification.
This is in addition to any whitespace specified with the --whitesp or --vwhitesp switches.
Note that Codablock-F, Code 16K, Code 49, ITF-14, EAN-2 to EAN-13, ISBN, UPC-A and UPC-E have compliant
quiet zones added by default. This can be disabled with the option --noquietzones.
4.6 Adding Boundary Bars and Boxes

Zint allows the symbol to be bound with ‘boundary bars’ (also known as ‘bearer bars’) using the option --bind.
These bars help to prevent misreading of the symbol by corrupting a scan if the scanning beam strays off the
top or bottom of the symbol. Zint can also put a border right around the symbol and its horizontal whitespace
with the --box option.
The width of the boundary bars or box borders must be specified using the --border switch. For example:
zint --box --border=10 -w 10 -d "This Text"
This Text
Figure 14: zint --border=10 --box -d "This Text" -w 10
gives a box with a width 10 times the X-dimension of the symbol. Note that when specifying a box, horizontal
whitespace is usually required in order to create a quiet zone between the barcode and the sides of the box. To
add a boundary bar to the top only use --bindtop.
22
For linear symbols, horizontal boundary bars appear tight against the barcode, inside any vertical whitespace
(or text). For matrix symbols, however, where they are decorative rather than functional, boundary bars appear
outside any whitespace.
Figure 15: zint -b QRCODE --border=1 --box -d "This Text" --quietzones
Codablock-F, Code 16K and Code 49 always have boundary bars, and default to particular horizontal whites-
pace values. Special considerations apply to ITF-14 and DPD - see 6.1.2.6 ITF-14 and 6.1.10.7 DPD Code for
those symbologies.
4.7 Using Colour

The default colours of a symbol are a black symbol on a white background. Zint allows you to change this. The
-r or --reverse switch allows the default colours to be inverted so that a white symbol is shown on a black
background (known as “reflectance reversal” or “reversed reflectance”). For example the command
zint -r -d "This Text"
gives an inverted Code 128 symbol. This is not practical for most symbologies but white-on-black is allowed by
the Aztec Code, Data Matrix, DotCode, Han Xin Code, Grid Matrix and QR Code symbology specifications.
For more specific needs the foreground (ink) and background (paper) colours can be specified using the --fg
and --bg options followed by a number in RRGGBB hexadecimal notation (the same system used in HTML).
For example the command
zint --fg=00FF00 -d "This Text"
alters the symbol to a bright green.
This Text
Figure 16: zint -d "This Text" --fg=00FF00
Zint also supports RGBA colour information for some output file formats which support alpha channels (cur-
rently only PNG, SVG and TIF) in a RRGGBBAA format. For example:
zint --fg=00ff0055 -d "This Text"
This Text
Figure 17: zint -d "This Text" --fg=00FF0055
will produce a semi-transparent green foreground with standard (white) background. Note that transparency
is handled differently for raster and vector files so that…
zint --bg=ff0000 --fg=ffffff00 ...
23
will give different results for PNG and SVG. Experimentation is advised!
In addition the --nobackground option will simply remove the background from EMF, EPS, GIF, PNG, SVG
and TIF files.
4.8 Rotating the Symbol

The symbol can be rotated through four orientations using the --rotate option followed by the angle of rotation
as shown below.
--rotate=0 (default)
--rotate=90
--rotate=180
--rotate=270
This Text
Figure 18: zint -d "This Text" --rotate=90
4.9 Adjusting Image Size

The scale of the image can be altered using the --scale option followed by a multiple of the default X-
dimension. The scale is multiplied by 2 (with the exception of MaxiCode) before being applied. The default
scale is 1.
For MaxiCode, the scale is multiplied by 10 for raster output, by 40 for EMF vector output, and by 2 otherwise
(non-EMF vector output).
For raster output, the default X-dimension is 2 pixels (except for MaxiCode, see 4.9.3 MaxiCode Raster Scaling
below). For example for PNG images a scale of 5 will increase the X-dimension to 10 pixels. Scales for raster
output should be given in increments of 0.5, i.e. 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, etc., to avoid the X-dimension varying
across the symbol due to interpolation. 0.5 increments are also faster to render.
The minimum scale for non-dotty raster output is 0.5, giving a minimum X-dimension of 1 pixel, and text will
not be printed for scales less than 1. The minimum scale for raster output in dotty mode is 1 (see 4.14 Working
with Dots).
The minimum scale for vector output is 0.1, giving a minimum X-dimension of 0.2.
The maximum scale for both raster and vector is 200.
4.9.1 Scaling by X-dimension and Resolution

An alternative way to specify the scale which takes these details into account is to use the --scalexdimdp
option, which has the format
--scalexdimdp=X[,R]
where X is the X-dimension (in mm by default) and R is the resolution (in dpmm, dots per mm, by default).
R is optional, and defaults to 12 dpmm, and X may be zero, in which case it uses a symbology-specific default.
The units may be given in inches for X by appending "in", and in dpi (dots per inch) for R by appending "dpi".
For example
zint -d "1234" --scalexdimdp=0.013in,300dpi
24
Explicit metric units may also be given by appending "mm" and "dpmm" as appropriate, and may be mixed with
U.S. units:
zint -d "1234" --scalexdimdp=0.33mm,300dpi
4.9.2 Scaling Example

The GS1 General Specifications Section 5.2.6.6 ‘Symbol dimensions at nominal size’ gives an example of an EAN-
13 barcode using the X-dimension of 0.33mm. To print that example as a PNG at 12 dpmm, the approximate
equivalent of 300 dpi (dpi = dpmm * 25.4), specify a scale of 2, since 0.33 * 12 = 3.96 pixels, or 4 pixels
rounding to the nearest pixel:
zint -b EANX -d "501234567890" --compliantheight --scale=2
This will result in output of 37.29mm x 25.56mm (WxH) at 12 dpmm. The same result can be achieved using
the --scalexdimdp option with
zint -b EANX -d "501234567890" --compliantheight --scalexdimdp=0
as 0.33mm is the default X-dimension for EAN, and 12 dpmm the default resolution.
4.9.3 MaxiCode Raster Scaling

For MaxiCode symbols, which use hexagons, the scale for raster output is multiplied by 10 before being applied.
The 0.5 increment recommended for normal raster output does not apply.
The minimum scale is 0.2, so the minimum X-dimension is 2 pixels. However scales below 0.5 are not recom-
mended and may produce symbols that are not within the following size ranges.
MaxiCode symbols have fixed size ranges of 24.82mm to 27.93mm in width, and 23.71mm to 26.69mm in height,
excluding quiet zones. The default X-dimension is 0.88mm. For example, to output at the default X-dimension
at 600 dpi specify:
zint -b MAXICODE -d "MaxiCode (19 chars)" --scalexdimdp=0,600dpi
4.10 Input Modes

4.10.1 Unicode, Data, and GS1 Modes
By default all CLI input data is assumed to be encoded in UTF-8 format. Many barcode symbologies encode
data using the Latin-1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1 plus ASCII) character set, so input is converted from UTF-8 to Latin-1
before being put in the symbol. In addition QR Code and its variants and Han Xin Code can by default encode
Japanese (Kanji) or Chinese (Hanzi) characters which are also converted from UTF-8.
There are two exceptions to the Latin-1 default: Grid Matrix, whose default character set is GB 2312 (Chinese);
and UPNQR, whose default character set is Latin-2 (ISO/IEC 8859-2 plus ASCII).
Table : Default Character Sets
Symbology Default character sets Alternate if input not Latin-1

Aztec Code Latin-1 None
Codablock-F Latin-1 None
Code 128 Latin-1 None
Code 16K Latin-1 None
Code One Latin-1 None
Data Matrix Latin-1 None
DotCode Latin-1 None
Grid Matrix GB 2312 (includes ASCII) N/A
Han Xin Latin-1 GB 18030 (includes ASCII)
MaxiCode Latin-1 None
MicroPDF417 Latin-1 None
Micro QR Code Latin-1 Shift JIS (includes ASCII4 )
PDF417 Latin-1 None
QR Code Latin-1 Shift JIS (see above)
rMQR Latin-1 Shift JIS (see above)
25
Symbology Default character sets Alternate if input not Latin-1
Ultracode Latin-1 None
UPNQR Latin-2 N/A
All others ASCII N/A
If Zint encounters characters which can not be encoded using the default character encoding then it will take
advantage of the ECI (Extended Channel Interpretations) mechanism to encode the data if the symbology
supports it - see 4.10.2 Input Modes and ECI below.
GS1 data can be encoded in a number of symbologies. Application Identifiers (AIs) should be enclosed in
[square brackets] followed by the data to be encoded (see 6.1.10.3 GS1-128). To encode GS1 data use the
--gs1 option. GS1 mode is assumed (and doesn’t need to be set) for GS1-128, EAN-14, GS1 DataBar and Com-
posite symbologies but is also available for Aztec Code, Code 16K, Code 49, Code One, Data Matrix, DotCode,
QR Code and Ultracode.
Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data may also be encoded in the symbologies Aztec Code, Codablock-F, Code
128, Code 39, Data Matrix, MicroPDF417, PDF417 and QR Code. Within this mode, the leading '+' and the
check character are automatically added, conforming to HIBC Labeler Identification Code (HIBC LIC). For
HIBC Provider Applications Standard (HIBC PAS), preface the data with a slash '/'.
The --binary option encodes the input data as given. Automatic code page translation to an ECI page is
disabled, and no validation of the data’s encoding takes place. This may be used for raw binary or binary
encrypted data. This switch plays together with the built-in ECI logic and examples may be found below.
The --fullmultibyte option uses the multibyte modes of QR Code, Micro QR Code, Rectangular Micro QR
Code, Han Xin Code and Grid Matrix for non-ASCII data, maximizing density. This is achieved by using
compression designed for Kanji/Hanzi characters; however some decoders take blocks which are encoded this
way and interpret them as Kanji/Hanzi characters, thus causing data corruption. Symbols encoded with this
option should be checked against decoders before they are used. The popular open-source ZXing decoder is
known to exhibit this behaviour.
4.10.2 Input Modes and ECI

If your data contains characters that are not in the default character set, you may encode it using an ECI-aware
symbology and an ECI value from Table : ECI Codes below. The ECI information is added to your code symbol
as prefix data. The symbologies that support ECI are
Table : ECI-Aware Symbologies
Aztec Code Grid Matrix PDF417

Code One Han Xin Code QR Code
Data Matrix MaxiCode rMQR
DotCode MicroPDF417 Ultracode
Be aware that not all barcode readers support ECI mode, so this can sometimes lead to unreadable barcodes.
If you are using characters beyond those supported by the default character set then you should check that the
resulting barcode can be understood by your target barcode reader.
The ECI value may be specified with the --eci switch, followed by the value in the column "ECI Code" in the
table below. The input data should be UTF-8 formatted. Zint automatically translates the data into the target
encoding.
Table : ECI Codes
ECI Code Character Encoding Scheme (ISO/IEC 8859 schemes include ASCII)
3 ISO/IEC 8859-1 - Latin alphabet No. 1
4
Shift JIS (JIS X 0201 Roman) re-maps two ASCII characters: backslash (\) to the yen sign (¥), and tilde (~) to overline (U+203E).
26
ECI Code Character Encoding Scheme (ISO/IEC 8859 schemes include ASCII)
7 ISO/IEC 8859-5 - Latin/Cyrillic alphabet
8 ISO/IEC 8859-6 - Latin/Arabic alphabet
9 ISO/IEC 8859-7 - Latin/Greek alphabet
10 ISO/IEC 8859-8 - Latin/Hebrew alphabet
11 ISO/IEC 8859-9 - Latin alphabet No. 5 (Turkish)
12 ISO/IEC 8859-10 - Latin alphabet No. 6 (Nordic)
13 ISO/IEC 8859-11 - Latin/Thai alphabet
15 ISO/IEC 8859-13 - Latin alphabet No. 7 (Baltic)
16 ISO/IEC 8859-14 - Latin alphabet No. 8 (Celtic)
20 Shift JIS (JIS X 0208 and JIS X 0201)
21 Windows 1250 - Latin 2 (Central Europe)
22 Windows 1251 - Cyrillic
23 Windows 1252 - Latin 1
24 Windows 1256 - Arabic
25 UTF-16BE (High order byte first)
26 UTF-8
27 ASCII (ISO/IEC 646 IRV)
28 Big5 (Taiwan) Chinese Character Set
29 GB 2312 (PRC) Chinese Character Set
30 Korean Character Set EUC-KR (KS X 1001:2002)
31 GBK Chinese Character Set
32 GB 18030 Chinese Character Set
33 UTF-16LE (Low order byte first)
34 UTF-32BE (High order bytes first)
35 UTF-32LE (Low order bytes first)
170 ISO/IEC 646 Invariant5
899 8-bit binary data
An ECI value of 0 does not encode any ECI information in the code symbol (unless the data contains non-
default character set characters). In this case, the default character set applies (see Table : Default Character
Sets above).
If no ECI is specified or a value of 0 is given, and the data does contain characters other than in the default char-
acter set, then Zint will automatically insert the appropriate single-byte ECI if possible (ECIs 3 to 24, excluding
ECI 20), or failing that ECI 26 (UTF-8). A warning will be generated. This mechanism is not applied if the
--binary option is given.
Multiple ECIs can be specified using the --segN options - see 4.15 Multiple Segments.
Note: the --eci=3 specification should only be used for special purposes. Using this parameter, the ECI infor-
mation is explicitly added to the symbol. Nevertheless, for ECI Code 3, this is not usually required, as this is
the default encoding for most barcodes, which is also active without any ECI information.
4.10.2.1 Input Modes and ECI Example 1

The Euro sign U+20AC can be encoded in ISO/IEC 8859-15. The Euro sign has the ISO/IEC 8859-15 codepoint
hex "A4". It is encoded in UTF-8 as the hex sequence: "E2 82 AC". Those 3 bytes are contained in the file
"utf8euro.txt". This command will generate the corresponding code:
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=17 -i utf8euro.txt
This is equivalent to the commands (using the --esc switch):

zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=17 --esc -d "\xE2\x82\xAC"
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=17 --esc -d "\u20AC"

5
ISO/IEC 646 Invariant is a subset of ASCII with 12 characters undefined: #, $, @, [, \, ], ^, `, {, |, }, ~.
27
and to the command:
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=17 -d "€"
Figure 19: zint -b DATAMATRIX --eci=17 -d "€"

The Chinese character with the Unicode codepoint U+5E38 can be encoded in Big5 encoding. The Big5 repre-
sentation of this character is the two hex bytes: "B1 60" (contained in the file "big5char.txt"). The generation
command for Data Matrix is:
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=28 --binary -i big5char.txt
This is equivalent to the command (using the --esc switch):

zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=28 --binary --esc -d "\xB1\x60"
and to the commands (no --binary switch so conversion occurs):

zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=28 --esc -d "\xE5\xB8\xB8"
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=28 --esc -d "\u5E38"
zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=28 -d " 常"
Figure 20: zint -b DATAMATRIX --eci=28 -d "\u5E38" --esc

Some decoders (in particular mobile app ones) for QR Code assume UTF-8 encoding by default and do not
support ECI. In this case supply UTF-8 data and use the --binary switch so that the data will be encoded as
UTF-8 without conversion:
zint -b 58 --binary -d "UTF-8 data"
Figure 21: zint -b QRCODE --binary -d "\xE2\x82\xAC\xE5\xB8\xB8" --esc
4.11 Batch Processing

Data can be batch processed by reading from a text file and producing a separate barcode image for each line
of text in that file. To do this use the --batch switch. To select the input file from which to read data use the -i
option. Zint will automatically detect the end of a line of text (in either Unix or Windows formatted text files)
and produce a symbol each time it finds this. Input files should end with a line feed character - if this is not
present then Zint will not encode the last line of text, and will warn you that there is a problem.
By default Zint will output numbered filenames starting with 00001.png, 00002.png etc. To change this be-
haviour use the -o option in combination with --batch using special characters in the output filename as shown
in the table below:
Table : Batch Filename Formatting
Input Character Interpretation

~ Insert a number or 0
28
Input Character Interpretation
# Insert a number or space
@ Insert a number or * (or + on Windows)
Any other Insert literally
The following table shows some examples to clarify this method:
Table : Batch Filename Examples
Input Filenames Generated

-o file~~~.svg file001.svg, file002.svg, file003.svg
-o @@@@bar.png ***1.png, ***2.png, ***3.png (except Windows)
-o @@@@bar.png +++1.png, +++2.png, +++3.png (on Windows)
-o my~~~bar.eps my001.bar.eps, my002.bar.eps, my003bar.eps
-o t@es~t~.png t*es0t1.png, t*es0t2.png, t*es0t3.png
The special characters can span directories also, which is useful when creating a large number of barcodes:
Table : Batch Directory Examples
Input Filenames Generated

-o dir~/file~~~.svg dir0/file001.svg, dir0/file002.svg, …
, dir0/file999.svg, dir1/file000.svg, …
4.12 Direct Output

The finished image files can be output directly to stdout for use as part of a pipe by using the --direct option.
By default --direct will output data as a PNG image (or GIF image if libpng is not present), but this can be
altered by supplementing the --direct option with a --filetype option followed by the suffix of the file type
required. For example:
zint -b 84 --direct --filetype=pcx -d "Data to encode"
This command will output the symbol as a PCX file to stdout. The currently supported output file formats are
shown in the following table.
Table : Output File Formats
Abbreviation File format

BMP Windows Bitmap
EMF Enhanced Metafile Format
EPS Encapsulated PostScript
GIF Graphics Interchange Format
PCX ZSoft Paintbrush image
PNG Portable Network Graphic
SVG Scalable Vector Graphic
TIF Tagged Image File Format
TXT Text file (see 4.18 Other Output Options)
CAUTION: Outputting binary files to the command shell without catching that data in a pipe can have unpre-
dictable results. Use with care!
29
4.13 Automatic Filenames
The --mirror option instructs Zint to use the data to be encoded as an indicator of the filename to be used.
This is particularly useful if you are processing batch data. For example the input data "1234567" will result
in a file named "1234567.png".
There are restrictions, however, on what characters can be stored in a filename, so the filename may vary from
the data if the data includes non-printable characters, for example, and may be shortened if the data input is
long.
To set the output file format use the --filetype option as detailed above in 4.12 Direct Output. To output to a
specific directory use the -o option giving the name of the directory (any filename will be ignored).
4.14 Working with Dots

Matrix codes can be rendered as a series of dots or circles rather than the normal squares by using the --dotty
option. This option is only available for matrix symbologies, and is automatically selected for DotCode. The
size of the dots can be adjusted using the --dotsize option followed by the diameter of the dot, where that
diameter is given as a multiple of the X-dimension. The minimum dot size is 0.01, the maximum is 20. The
default size is 0.8.
The default and minimum scale for raster output in dotty mode is 1.
Figure 22: zint -b CODEONE -d "123456789012345678" --dotty --vers=9
4.15 Multiple Segments

If you need to specify different ECIs for different sections of the input data, the --seg1 to --seg9 options can
be used. Each option is of the form --segN=ECI,data where ECI is the ECI code (see Table : ECI Codes) and
data is the data to which this applies. This is in addition to the ECI and data specified using the --eci and -d
options which must still be present and which in effect constitute segment 0. For instance
zint -b AZTEC_CODE --eci=9 -d "Κείμενο" --seg1=7,"Текст" --seg2=20," 文章"
specifies 3 segments: segment 0 with ECI 9 (Greek), segment 1 with ECI 7 (Cyrillic), and segment 2 with ECI
20 (Shift JIS). Segments must be consecutive.
The symbology must be ECI-aware (see Table : ECI-Aware Symbologies).
Figure 23: zint -b AZTEC --eci=9 -d "Κείμενο" --seg1=7,"Текст" --seg2=20," 文章"
ECIs of zero may be given, in which case Zint will automatically determine an ECI if necessary, as described in
section 4.10.2 Input Modes and ECI.
Multiple segments are not currently supported for use with GS1 data.
4.16 Structured Append

Structured Append is a method of splitting data among several symbols so that they form a sequence that can
be scanned and re-assembled in the correct order on reading, and is available for Aztec Code, Code One, Data
Matrix, DotCode, Grid Matrix, MaxiCode, MicroPDF417, PDF417, QR Code and Ultracode.
The --structapp option marks a symbol as part of a Structured Append sequence, and has the format
--structapp=I,C[,ID]
30
Figure 24: zint -b DATAMATRIX -d "2nd of 3" --structapp="2,3,5006"
where I is the index (position) of the symbol in the Structured Append sequence, C is the count or total number
of symbols in the sequence, and ID is an optional identifier (not available for Code One, DotCode or MaxiCode)
that is the same for all symbols belonging to the same sequence. The index is 1-based and goes from 1 to count.
Count must be 2 or more. See the individual symbologies for further details.
4.17 Help Options

There are three help options which give information about how to use the command line. The -h or --help
option will display a list of all of the valid options available, and also gives the exact version of the software
(the version by itself can be displayed with -v or --version).
The -t or --types option gives the table of symbologies along with the symbol ID numbers and names.
The -e or --ecinos option gives a list of the ECI codes.
4.18 Other Output Options

For linear barcodes the text present in the output image can be removed by using the --notext option.
The text can be set to bold using the --bold option, or a smaller font can be substituted using the --small
option. The --bold and --small options can be used together if required, but only for vector output.
This Text
Figure 25: zint --bold -d "This Text" --small
Zint can output a representation of the symbol data as a set of hexadecimal values if asked to output to a text
file ("*.txt") or if given the option --filetype=txt. This can be used for test and diagnostic purposes.
The --cmyk option is specific to output in Encapsulated PostScript and TIF, and converts the RGB colours used
to the CMYK colour space. Setting custom colours at the command line will still need to be done in RRGGBB
format.
Additional options are available which are specific to certain symbologies. These may, for example, control the
amount of error correction data or the size of the symbol. These options are discussed in section 6. Types of
Symbology of this guide.
31
5. Using the API
Zint has been written using the C language and has an API for use with C/C++ language programs. A Qt
interface is available in the "backend_qt" sub-directory, and a Tcl interface is available in the "backend_tcl"
sub-directory.
The libzint API has been designed to be very similar to that used by the GNU Barcode package. This allows
easy migration from GNU Barcode to Zint. Zint, however, uses none of the same function names or option
names as GNU Barcode. This allows you to use both packages in your application without conflict if you wish.
5.1 Creating and Deleting Symbols

The symbols manipulated by Zint are held in a zint_symbol structure defined in "zint.h". These symbols
are created with the ZBarcode_Create() function and deleted using the ZBarcode_Delete() function. For
example the following code creates and then deletes a symbol:
#include <zint.h>
#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
struct zint_symbol *my_symbol;
my_symbol = ZBarcode_Create();
if (my_symbol != NULL) {
printf("Symbol successfully created!\n");
}
ZBarcode_Delete(my_symbol);
return 0;
}
When compiling this code it will need to be linked with the libzint library using the -lzint option:
gcc -o simple simple.c -lzint
5.2 Encoding and Saving to File

To encode data in a barcode use the ZBarcode_Encode() function. To write the symbol to a file use the ZBar-
code_Print() function. For example the following code takes a string from the command line and outputs a
Code 128 symbol in a PNG file named "out.png" (or a GIF file called "out.gif" if libpng is not present) in
the current working directory:
#include <zint.h>
int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
ZBarcode_Encode(my_symbol, argv[1], 0);
ZBarcode_Print(my_symbol, 0);
return 0;
}
This can also be done in one stage using the ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print() function as shown in the next
example:
#include <zint.h>
{
ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, argv[1], 0, 0);
return 0;
}
32
Note that when using the API, the input data is assumed to be 8-bit binary unless the input_mode variable in
the zint_symbol structure is set - see 5.10 Setting the Input Mode for details.
5.3 Encoding and Printing Functions in Depth

The functions for encoding and printing barcodes are defined as:
int ZBarcode_Encode(struct zint_symbol *symbol,
const unsigned char *source, int length);
int ZBarcode_Encode_File(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

const char *filename);
int ZBarcode_Print(struct zint_symbol *symbol, int rotate_angle);
int ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

const unsigned char *source, int length, int rotate_angle);
int ZBarcode_Encode_File_and_Print(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

const char *filename, int rotate_angle);
In these definitions length can be used to set the length of the input string. This allows the encoding of NUL
(ASCII 0) characters in those symbologies which allow this. A value of 0 will disable this usage and Zint will
encode data up to the first NUL character in the input string, which must be present.
The rotate_angle value can be used to rotate the image when outputting. Valid values are 0, 90, 180 and 270.
The ZBarcode_Encode_File() and ZBarcode_Encode_File_and_Print() functions can be used to encode
data read directly from a text file where the filename is given in the NUL-terminated filename string.
If printing more than one barcode, the zint_symbol structure may be re-used by calling the ZBarcode_Clear()
function after each barcode to free any output buffers allocated. The zint_symbol input variables must be reset.
5.4 Buffering Symbols in Memory (raster)

In addition to saving barcode images to file Zint allows you to access a representation of the resulting bitmap
image in memory. The following functions allow you to do this:
int ZBarcode_Buffer(struct zint_symbol *symbol, int rotate_angle);
int ZBarcode_Encode_and_Buffer(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

int ZBarcode_Encode_File_and_Buffer(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

The arguments here are the same as above. The difference is that instead of saving the image to a file it is
placed in an unsigned character array. The bitmap pointer is set to the first memory location in the array and
the values barcode_width and barcode_height indicate the size of the resulting image in pixels. Rotation and
colour options can be used with the buffer functions in the same way as when saving to a file. The pixel data
can be extracted from the array by the method shown in the example below where render_pixel() is assumed
to be a function for drawing a pixel on the screen implemented by the external application:
int row, col, i = 0;
int red, blue, green;
for (row = 0; row < my_symbol->bitmap_height; row++) {

for (col = 0; col < my_symbol->bitmap_width; col++) {
red = (int) my_symbol->bitmap[i];
green = (int) my_symbol->bitmap[i + 1];
blue = (int) my_symbol->bitmap[i + 2];
render_pixel(row, col, red, green, blue);
i += 3;
}
}
33
Where speed is important, the buffer can be returned instead in a more compact intermediate form using the
output option OUT_BUFFER_INTERMEDIATE. Here each byte is an ASCII value: '1' for foreground colour and
'0' for background colour, except for Ultracode, which also uses colour codes: 'W' for white, 'C' for cyan, 'B'
for blue, 'M' for magenta, 'R' for red, 'Y' for yellow, 'G' for green, and 'K' for black. The loop for accessing
the data is then:
int row, col, i = 0;
for (row = 0; row < my_symbol->bitmap_height; row++) {

for (col = 0; col < my_symbol->bitmap_width; col++) {
render_pixel(row, col, my_symbol->bitmap[i]);
i++;
}
}
5.5 Buffering Symbols in Memory (vector)

Symbols can also be saved to memory in a vector representation as well as a bitmap one. The following func-
tions, exactly analogous to the ones above, allow you to do this:
int ZBarcode_Buffer_Vector(struct zint_symbol *symbol, int rotate_angle);
int ZBarcode_Encode_and_Buffer_Vector(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

int ZBarcode_Encode_File_and_Buffer_Vector(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

Here the vector pointer is set to a header which contains pointers to lists of structures representing the various
elements of the barcode: rectangles, hexagons, strings and circles. To draw the barcode, each of the element
types is iterated in turn, and using the information stored is drawn by a rendering system. For instance, to draw
a barcode using a rendering system with prepare_canvas(), draw_rect(), draw_hexagon(), draw_string(),
and draw_circle() routines available:
struct zint_vector_rect *rect;
struct zint_vector_hexagon *hexagon;
struct zint_vector_string *string;
struct zint_vector_circle *circle;
prepare_canvas(my_symbol->vector->width, my_symbol->vector->height,
my_symbol->scale, my_symbol->fgcolour, my_symbol->bgcolor,
rotate_angle);
for (rect = my_symbol->vector->rectangles; rect; rect = rect->next) {

draw_rect(rect->x, rect->y, rect->width, rect->height,
rect->colour);
}
for (hexagon = my_symbol->vector->hexagons; hexagon; hexagon = hexagon->next) {
draw_hexagon(hexagon->x, hexagon->y, hexagon->diameter,
hexagon->rotation);
}
for (string = my_symbol->vector->strings; string; string = string->next) {
draw_string(string->x, string->y, string->fsize,
string->rotation, string->halign,
string->text, string->length);
}
for (circle = my_symbol->vector->circles; circle; circle = circle->next) {
draw_circle(circle->x, circle->y, circle->diameter,
circle->width, circle->colour);
}
34
5.6 Setting Options
So far our application is not very useful unless we plan to only make Code 128 symbols and we don’t mind
that they only save to "out.png". As with the CLI program, of course, these options can be altered. The way
this is done is by altering the contents of the zint_symbol structure between the creation and encoding stages.
The zint_symbol structure consists of the following variables:
Table : API Structure zint_symbol
Variable Name Type Meaning Default Value

symbology integer Symbol to use (see 5.8 Specifying a BARCODE_CODE128
Symbology).
height float Symbol height, excluding fixed Symbol dependent
width-to-height symbols.6
scale float Scale factor for adjusting size of 1.0
image.
whitespace_width integer Horizontal whitespace width. 0
whitespace_height integer Vertical whitespace height. 0
border_width integer Border width. 0
output_options integer Set various output file parameters 0 (none)
(see 5.9 Adjusting Other Output
Options).
fgcolour character Foreground (ink) colour as "000000"
string RGB/RGBA hexadecimal string.
Must be 6 or 8 characters followed
by a terminating NUL.
bgcolour character Background (paper) colour as "ffffff"
string RGB/RGBA hexadecimal string.
Must be 6 or 8 characters followed
by a terminating NUL.
fgcolor pointer Points to fgcolour allowing alternate
spelling.
bgcolor pointer Points to bgcolour allowing
alternate spelling.
outfile character Contains the name of the file to "out.png"
string output a resulting barcode symbol
to. Must end in .png, .gif, .bmp,
.emf, .eps, .pcx, .svg, .tif or
.txt followed by a terminating NUL.
primary character Primary message data for more "" (empty)
string complex symbols, with a
terminating NUL.
option_1 integer Symbol specific options. -1
option_2 integer Symbol specific options. 0
option_3 integer Symbol specific options. 0
show_hrt integer Set to 0 to hide text. 1
input_mode integer Set encoding of input data (see 5.10 DATA_MODE
Setting the Input Mode).
eci integer Extended Channel Interpretation 0 (none)
code.
dpmm float Resolution of output in dots per mm 0 (none)
(BMP/EMF/PCX/PNG/TIF only).
dot_size float Diameter of dots used in dotty 0.8
mode.
guard_descent float Height of guard bar descent 5.0
(EAN/UPC only).
6
The height value is ignored for Aztec (including HIBC and Aztec Rune), Code One, Data Matrix (including HIBC), DotCode, Grid
Matrix, Han Xin, MaxiCode, QR Code (including HIBC, Micro QR, rMQR and UPNQR), and Ultracode - all of which have a fixed width-
to-height ratio (or, in the case of Code One, a fixed height).
35
Variable Name Type Meaning Default Value
structapp Structured Mark a symbol as part of a sequence count 0 (disabled)
Append of symbols.
structure
warn_level integer Affects error/warning value WARN_DEFAULT
returned by Zint API (see 5.7
Handling Errors).
text unsigned Human Readable Text, which "" (empty) (output
character usually consists of input data plus only)
string one more check digit. Uses UTF-8
formatting, with a terminating NUL.
rows integer Number of rows used by the (output only)
symbol.
width integer Width of the generated symbol. (output only)
encoding_data array of Representation of the encoded data. (output only)
unsigned
character
arrays
row_height array of floats Representation of the height of a (output only)
row.
errtxt character Error message in the event that an (output only)
string error occurred, with a terminating
NUL.
bitmap pointer to Pointer to stored bitmap image. (output only)
unsigned
character array
bitmap_width integer Width of stored bitmap image (in (output only)
pixels).
bitmap_height integer Height of stored bitmap image (in (output only)
pixels).
alphamap pointer to Pointer to array representing alpha (output only)
unsigned channel (or NULL if no alpha
character array channel needed).
bitmap_byte_length integer Size of BMP bitmap data. (output only)
vector pointer to Pointer to vector header containing (output only)
vector pointers to vector elements.
structure
To alter these values use the syntax shown in the example below. This code has the same result as the previous
example except the output is now taller and plotted in green.
#include <zint.h>
#include <string.h>
{
strcpy(my_symbol->fgcolour, "00ff00");
my_symbol->height = 400.0f;
ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, argv[1], 0, 0);
return 0;
}
Background removal for EMF, EPS, GIF, PNG, SVG and TIF files can be achieved by setting the background
alpha to "00" where the values for R, G and B will be ignored:
strcpy(my_symbol->bgcolour, "55555500");
36
5.7 Handling Errors
If errors occur during encoding a non-zero integer value is passed back to the calling application. In addition
the errtxt variable is used to give a message detailing the nature of the error. The errors generated by Zint are
given in the table below:
Table : API Warning and Error Return Values
Return Value Meaning

ZINT_WARN_INVALID_OPTION One of the values in zint_struct was set incorrectly but Zint has
made a guess at what it should have been and generated a
barcode accordingly.
ZINT_WARN_USES_ECI Zint has automatically inserted an ECI character. The symbol may
not be readable with some readers.
ZINT_WARN_NONCOMPLIANT The symbol was created but is not compliant with certain
standards set in its specification (e.g. height, GS1 AI data
lengths).
ZINT_ERROR Marks the divide between warnings and errors. For return values
greater than or equal to this no symbol (or only an incomplete
symbol) is generated.
ZINT_ERROR_TOO_LONG The input data is too long or too short for the selected symbology.
No symbol has been generated.
ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_DATA The data to be encoded includes characters which are not
permitted by the selected symbology (e.g. alphabetic characters
in an EAN symbol). No symbol has been generated.
ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_CHECK Data with an incorrect check digit has been entered. No symbol
has been generated.
ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_OPTION One of the values in zint_struct was set incorrectly and Zint
was unable to guess what it should have been. No symbol has
been generated.
ZINT_ERROR_ENCODING_PROBLEM A problem has occurred during encoding of the data. This should
never happen. Please contact the developer if you encounter this
error.
ZINT_ERROR_FILE_ACCESS Zint was unable to open the requested output file. This is usually
a file permissions problem.
ZINT_ERROR_MEMORY Zint ran out of memory. This should only be a problem with
legacy systems.
ZINT_ERROR_FILE_WRITE Zint failed to write all contents to the requested output file. This
should only occur if the output device becomes full.
ZINT_ERROR_USES_ECI Returned if warn_level set to WARN_FAIL_ALL and
ZINT_WARN_USES_ECI occurs.
ZINT_ERROR_NONCOMPLIANT Returned if warn_level set to WARN_FAIL_ALL and
ZINT_WARN_NONCOMPLIANT occurs.
To catch errors use an integer variable as shown in the code below:

#include <zint.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
{
int error;
strcpy(my_symbol->fgcolour, "nonsense");
error = ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, argv[1], 0, 0);
if (error != 0) {
/* some warning or error occurred */
printf("%s\n", my_symbol->errtxt);
}
37
if (error >= ZINT_ERROR) {
/* stop now */
return 1;
}
/* otherwise carry on with the rest of the application */
return 0;
}
This code will exit with the appropriate message:

Error 653: Malformed foreground colour 'NONSENSE' (hexadecimal only)
To treat all warnings as errors, set symbol->warn_level to WARN_FAIL_ALL.
5.8 Specifying a Symbology

Symbologies can be specified by number or by name as shown in the Table : Barcode Types (Symbologies). For
example
symbol->symbology = BARCODE_LOGMARS;
means the same as

symbol->symbology = 50;
5.9 Adjusting Other Output Options

The output_options variable can be used to adjust various aspects of the output file. To select more than one
option from the table below simply OR them together when adjusting this value:
my_symbol->output_options |= BARCODE_BIND | READER_INIT;
Table : API output_options Values
Value Effect
0 No options selected.
BARCODE_BIND_TOP Boundary bar above the symbol only.7
BARCODE_BIND Boundary bars above and below the symbol and between rows if
stacking multiple symbols.8
BARCODE_BOX Add a box surrounding the symbol and whitespace.
BARCODE_STDOUT Output the file to stdout.
READER_INIT Create as a Reader Initialisation (Programming) symbol.
SMALL_TEXT Use a smaller font for the Human Readable Text.
BOLD_TEXT Embolden the Human Readable Text.
CMYK_COLOUR Select the CMYK colour space option for Encapsulated PostScript and
TIF files.
BARCODE_DOTTY_MODE Plot a matrix symbol using dots rather than squares.
GS1_GS_SEPARATOR Use GS instead of FNC1 as GS1 separator (Data Matrix only).
OUT_BUFFER_INTERMEDIATE Return the bitmap buffer as ASCII values instead of separate colour
channels (OUT_BUFFER only).
BARCODE_QUIET_ZONES Add compliant quiet zones (additional to any specified whitespace).9
BARCODE_NO_QUIET_ZONES Disable quiet zones, notably those with defaults.
COMPLIANT_HEIGHT Warn if height not compliant and use standard height (if any) as
default.
7
The BARCODE_BIND_TOP flag is set by default for DPD - see 6.1.10.7 DPD Code.
8
The BARCODE_BIND flag is always set for Codablock-F, Code 16K and Code 49. Special considerations apply to ITF-14 - see 6.1.2.6 ITF-14.
9
Codablock-F, Code 16K, Code 49, EAN-2 to EAN-13, ISBN, ITF-14, UPC-A and UPC-E have compliant quiet zones added by default.
38
5.10 Setting the Input Mode
The way in which the input data is encoded can be set using the input_mode property. Valid values are shown
in the table below.
Table : API input_mode Values
Value Effect
DATA_MODE Uses full 8-bit range interpreted as binary data.
UNICODE_MODE Uses UTF-8 input.
GS1_MODE Encodes GS1 data using FNC1 characters.
The above are exclusive, the following optional and OR-ed.
ESCAPE_MODE Process input data for escape sequences.
GS1PARENS_MODE Parentheses (round brackets) used in GS1 data instead of square brackets to
delimit Application Identifiers (parentheses must not otherwise occur in the
data).
GS1NOCHECK_MODE Do not check GS1 data for validity, i.e. suppress checks for valid AIs and data
lengths. Invalid characters (e.g. control characters, extended ASCII characters)
are still checked for.
HEIGHTPERROW_MODE Interpret the height variable as per-row rather than as overall height.
FAST_MODE Use faster if less optimal encodation or other shortcuts if available (affects
DATAMATRIX, MICROPDF417, PDF417, QRCODE and UPNQR only).
The default mode is DATA_MODE. (Note that this differs from the default for the CLI and GUI, which is UNI-
CODE_MODE.)
DATA_MODE, UNICODE_MODE and GS1_MODE are mutually exclusive, whereas ESCAPE_MODE, GS1PARENS_MODE,
GS1NOCHECK_MODE, HEIGHTPERROW_MODE and FAST_MODE are optional. So, for example, you can set
my_symbol->input_mode = UNICODE_MODE | ESCAPE_MODE;
or
my_symbol->input_mode = GS1_MODE | GS1PARENS_MODE | GS1NOCHECK_MODE;
whereas
my_symbol->input_mode = DATA_MODE | GS1_MODE;
is not valid.
Permissible escape sequences are listed in Table : Escape Sequences. An example of GS1PARENS_MODE usage is
given in section 6.1.10.3 GS1-128.
GS1NOCHECK_MODE is for use with legacy systems that have data that does not conform to the current GS1 stan-
dard. Printable ASCII input is still checked for, as is the validity of GS1 data specified without AIs (e.g. linear
data for GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional/Limited/etc.).
For HEIGHTPERROW_MODE, see --heightperrow in section 4.4 Adjusting Height. The height variable should be
set to the desired per-row value on input (it will be set to the overall height on output).
5.11 Multiple Segments

For input data requiring multiple ECIs, the following functions may be used:
int ZBarcode_Encode_Segs(struct zint_symbol *symbol,
const struct zint_seg segs[], const int seg_count);
int ZBarcode_Encode_Segs_and_Print(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

const struct zint_seg segs[], const int seg_count, int rotate_angle);
int ZBarcode_Encode_Segs_and_Buffer(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

int ZBarcode_Encode_Segs_and_Buffer_Vector(struct zint_symbol *symbol,

39
These are direct analogues of the previously mentioned ZBarcode_Encode(), ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(),
ZBarcode_Encode_and_Buffer() and ZBarcode_Encode_and_Buffer_Vector() respectively, where instead
of a pair consisting of "source, length", a pair consisting of "segs, seg_count" is given, with segs being
an array of struct zint_seg segments and seg_count being the number of elements it contains. The zint_seg
structure is of the form:
struct zint_seg {
unsigned char *source; /* Data to encode */
int length; /* Length of `source`. If 0, `source` must be
NUL-terminated */
int eci; /* Extended Channel Interpretation */
};
The symbology must support ECIs (see Table : ECI-Aware Symbologies). For example:
#include <zint.h>
{
struct zint_seg segs[] = {
{ "Κείμενο", 0, 9 },
{ "Текст", 0, 7 },
{ " 文章", 0, 20 }
};
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_AZTEC;
my_symbol->input_mode = UNICODE_MODE;
ZBarcode_Encode_Segs(my_symbol, segs, 3);
ZBarcode_Print(my_symbol, 0);
return 0;
}
A maximum of 256 segments may be specified. Use of multiple segments with GS1 data is not currently sup-
ported.
5.12 Scaling Helpers

To help with scaling the output, the following three function are available:
float ZBarcode_Default_Xdim(int symbol_id);
float ZBarcode_Scale_From_XdimDp(int symbol_id, float x_dim_mm, float dpmm,

const char *filetype) {
float ZBarcode_XdimDP_From_Scale(int symbol_id, float scale,

float x_dim_mm_or_dpmm, const char *filetype);
The first ZBarcode_Default_Xdim() returns the default X-dimension suggested by Zint for symbology sym-
bol_id.
The second ZBarcode_Scale_From_XdimDp() returns the scale to use to output to a file of type filetype with
X-dimension x_dim_mm at dpmm dots per mm. The given X-dimension must be non-zero and less than or equal
to 10mm, however dpmm may be zero and defaults to 12 dpmm, and filetype may be NULL or empty in which
case a GIF filetype is assumed. For raster output (BMP/GIF/PCX/PNG/TIF) the scale is rounded to half-integer
increments.
For example:
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_RM4SCC; /* Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code */
my_symbol->dpmm = 600.0f / 25.4f; /* 600 dpi */
my_symbol->scale = ZBarcode_Scale_From_XdimDp(
my_symbol->symbology,
ZBarcode_Default_Xdim(my_symbol->symbology),
my_symbol->dpmm, "PNG"); /* 7.5 */
40
The third function ZBarcode_XdimDP_From_Scale() is the “reverse” of ZBarcode_Scale_From_XdimDp(),
returning the X-dimension (in mm) or the dot density (in dpmm) given a scale scale. Both scale and
x_dim_mm_or_dpmm must be non-zero. The returned value is bound to the maximum value of dpmm (1000),
so must be further bound to 10 on return if the X-dimension is sought.
Note that the X-dimension to use is application dependent, and varies not only due to the symbology, resolu-
tion and filetype but also due to the type of scanner used, the intended scanning distance, and what media
(“substrates”) the barcode appears on.
5.13 Verifying Symbology Availability

An additional function available in the API is:
int ZBarcode_ValidID(int symbol_id);
which allows you to check whether a given symbology is available, returning a non-zero value if so. For exam-
ple:
if (ZBarcode_ValidID(BARCODE_PDF417) != 0) {
printf("PDF417 available\n");
} else {
printf("PDF417 not available\n");
}
Another function that may be useful is:

int ZBarcode_BarcodeName(int symbol_id, char name[32]);
which copies the name of a symbology into the supplied name buffer, which should be 32 characters in length.
The name is NUL-terminated, and zero is returned on success. For instance:
char name[32];
if (ZBarcode_BarcodeName(BARCODE_PDF417, name) == 0) {
printf("%s\n", name);
}
will print BARCODE_PDF417.
5.14 Checking Symbology Capabilities

It can be useful for frontend programs to know the capabilities of a symbology. This can be determined using
another additional function:
unsigned int ZBarcode_Cap(int symbol_id, unsigned int cap_flag);
by OR-ing the flags below in the cap_flag argument and checking the return to see which are set.
Table : API Capability Flags
Value Meaning
ZINT_CAP_HRT Can the symbology print Human Readable Text?
ZINT_CAP_STACKABLE Is the symbology stackable?
ZINT_CAP_EXTENDABLE Is the symbology extendable with add-on data? (i.e. is it EAN/UPC?)
ZINT_CAP_COMPOSITE Does the symbology support composite data? (see 6.3 GS1 Composite
Symbols (ISO 24723) below)
ZINT_CAP_ECI Does the symbology support Extended Channel Interpretations?
ZINT_CAP_GS1 Does the symbology support GS1 data?
ZINT_CAP_DOTTY Can the symbology be outputted as dots?
ZINT_CAP_QUIET_ZONES Does the symbology have default quiet zones?
ZINT_CAP_FIXED_RATIO Does the symbology have a fixed width-to-height (aspect) ratio?
ZINT_CAP_READER_INIT Does the symbology support Reader Initialisation?
ZINT_CAP_FULL_MULTIBYTE Is the ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE option applicable?
ZINT_CAP_MASK Is mask selection applicable?
ZINT_CAP_STRUCTAPP Does the symbology support Structured Append?
ZINT_CAP_COMPLIANT_HEIGHT Does the symbology have a compliant height defined?
41
For example:
unsigned int cap = ZBarcode_Cap(BARCODE_PDF417, ZINT_CAP_HRT | ZINT_CAP_ECI);
if (cap & ZINT_CAP_HRT) {
printf("PDF417 supports HRT\n");
} else {
printf("PDF417 does not support HRT\n");
}
if (cap & ZINT_CAP_ECI) {
printf("PDF417 supports ECI\n");
} else {
printf("PDF417 does not support ECI\n");
}
5.15 Zint Version

Whether the Zint library linked to was built with PNG support may be determined with:
int ZBarcode_NoPng();
which returns 1 if no PNG support is available, else zero.

Lastly, the version of the Zint library linked to is returned by:
int ZBarcode_Version();
The version parts are separated by hundreds. For instance, version "2.9.1" is returned as "20901".
42
6. Types of Symbology
6.1 One-Dimensional Symbols
One-dimensional or linear symbols are what most people associate with the term barcode. They consist of a
number of bars and a number of spaces of differing widths.
6.1.1 Code 11
921232096769
Figure 26: zint -b CODE11 -d "9212320967"
Developed by Intermec in 1977, Code 11 is similar to Code 2 of 5 Matrix and is primarily used in telecommuni-
cations. The symbol can encode data consisting of the digits 0-9 and the dash character (-) up to a maximum
of 121 characters. Two modulo-11 check digits are added by default. To add just one check digit, set --vers=1
(API option_2 = 1). To add no check digits, set --vers=2 (API option_2 = 2).
6.1.2 Code 2 of 5
Code 2 of 5 is a family of one-dimensional symbols, 8 of which are supported by Zint. Note that the names
given to these standards alters from one source to another so you should take care to ensure that you have the
right barcode type before using these standards.
6.1.2.1 Standard Code 2 of 5
9212320967
Figure 27: zint -b C25STANDARD -d "9212320967"
Also known as Code 2 of 5 Matrix, this is a self-checking code used in industrial applications and photo devel-
opment. Standard Code 2 of 5 will encode numeric input (digits 0-9) up to a maximum of 80 digits. No check
digit is added by default. To add a check digit, set --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1). To add a check digit but not
show it in the Human Readable Text, set --vers=2 (API option_2 = 2).
6.1.2.2 IATA Code 2 of 5
9212320967
Figure 28: zint -b C25IATA -d "9212320967"
Used for baggage handling in the air-transport industry by the International Air Transport Agency, this self-
checking code will encode numeric input (digits 0-9) up to a maximum of 45 digits. No check digit is added
by default. Check digit options are the same as for 6.1.2.1 Standard Code 2 of 5.
43
6.1.2.3 Industrial Code 2 of 5
9212320967
Figure 29: zint -b C25IND -d "9212320967"
Industrial Code 2 of 5 can encode numeric input (digits 0-9) up to a maximum of 45 digits. No check digit is
added by default. Check digit options are the same as for 6.1.2.1 Standard Code 2 of 5.
6.1.2.4 Interleaved Code 2 of 5 (ISO 16390)
9212320967
Figure 30: zint -b C25INTER --compliantheight -d "9212320967"
This self-checking symbology encodes pairs of numbers, and so can only encode an even number of digits (0-
9). If an odd number of digits is entered a leading zero is added by Zint. A maximum of 45 pairs (90 digits)
can be encoded. No check digit is added by default. Check digit options are the same as for 6.1.2.1 Standard
Code 2 of 5.
6.1.2.5 Code 2 of 5 Data Logic
9212320967
Figure 31: zint -b C25LOGIC -d "9212320967"
Data Logic does not include a check digit by default and can encode numeric input (digits 0-9) up to a maximum
of 80 digits. Check digit options are the same as for 6.1.2.1 Standard Code 2 of 5.
6.1.2.6 ITF-14
92123209671459
Figure 32: zint -b ITF14 --compliantheight -d "9212320967145"
ITF-14, also known as UPC Shipping Container Symbol or Case Code, is based on Interleaved Code 2 of 5 and
requires a 13-digit numeric input (digits 0-9). One modulo-10 check digit is added by Zint.
44
If no border option is specified Zint defaults to adding a bounding box with a border width of 5. This behaviour
can be overridden by using the --bind option (API output_options |= BARCODE_BIND). Similarly the border
width can be overridden using --border (API border_width). If a symbol with no border is required this can
be achieved by explicitly setting the border type to box (or bind or bindtop) and leaving the border width 0.
92123209671459
Figure 33: zint -b ITF14 --box --compliantheight -d "9212320967145"
6.1.2.7 Deutsche Post Leitcode
92123.209.671.456
Figure 34: zint -b DPLEIT -d "9212320967145"
Leitcode is based on Interleaved Code 2 of 5 and is used by Deutsche Post for routing purposes. Leitcode
requires a 13-digit numerical input to which Zint adds a check digit.
6.1.2.8 Deutsche Post Identcode
91.23 2.096.712 7
Figure 35: zint -b DPIDENT -d "91232096712"
Identcode is based on Interleaved Code 2 of 5 and is used by Deutsche Post for identification purposes. Ident-
code requires an 11-digit numerical input to which Zint adds a check digit.
45
6.1.3 UPC (Universal Product Code) (ISO 15420)
6.1.3.1 UPC Version A
7 25272 70270 3
Figure 36: zint -b UPCA --compliantheight -d "72527270270"
UPC-A is used in the United States for retail applications. The symbol requires an 11-digit article number. The
check digit is calculated by Zint. In addition EAN-2 and EAN-5 add-on symbols can be added using the +
character. For example, to draw a UPC-A symbol with the data 72527270270 with an EAN-5 add-on showing
the data 12345 use the command:
zint -b UPCA -d "72527270270+12345"
or using the API encode a data string with the + character included:
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_UPCA;
error = ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, "72527270270+12345", 0, 0);
12345
7 25272 70270 3
Figure 37: zint -b UPCA --compliantheight -d "72527270270+12345"
If your input data already includes the check digit symbology BARCODE_UPCA_CHK (35) can be used which takes
a 12-digit input and validates the check digit before encoding.
You can adjust the gap between the main symbol and an add-on in multiples of the X-dimension by setting
--addongap (API option_2) to a value between 9 (default) and 12. The height in X-dimensions that the guard
bars descend below the main bars can be adjusted by setting --guarddescent (API guard_descent) to a value
between 0 and 20 (default 5).
6.1.3.2 UPC Version E
1 123456 2
Figure 38: zint -b UPCE --compliantheight -d "1123456"
UPC-E is a zero-compressed version of UPC-A developed for smaller packages. The code requires a 6-digit
article number (digits 0-9). The check digit is calculated by Zint. EAN-2 and EAN-5 add-on symbols can be
added using the + character as with UPC-A. In addition Zint also supports Number System 1 encoding by
entering a 7-digit article number starting with the digit 1. For example:
zint -b UPCE -d "1123456"
or
46
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_UPCE;
error = ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, "1123456", 0, 0);
If your input data already includes the check digit symbology BARCODE_UPCE_CHK (38) can be used which takes
a 7 or 8-digit input and validates the check digit before encoding.
You can adjust the gap between the main symbol and an add-on in multiples of the X-dimension by setting
--addongap (API option_2) to a value between 7 (default) and 12. The height in X-dimensions that the guard
bars descend below the main bars can be adjusted by setting --guarddescent (API guard_descent) to a value
between 0 and 20 (default 5).
6.1.4 EAN (European Article Number) (ISO 15420)

6.1.4.1 EAN-2, EAN-5, EAN-8 and EAN-13
4 512345 678906
Figure 39: zint -b EANX --compliantheight -d "4512345678906"
The EAN system is used in retail across Europe and includes standards for EAN-2, EAN-5, EAN-8 and EAN-13
which encode 2, 5, 7 or 12-digit numbers respectively. Zint will decide which symbology to use depending
on the length of the input data. In addition EAN-2 and EAN-5 add-on symbols can be added to EAN-8 and
EAN-13 symbols using the + character as with UPC symbols. For example:
zint -b EANX -d "54321"
54321
Figure 40: zint -b EANX --compliantheight -d "54321"
will encode a stand-alone EAN-5, whereas

zint -b EANX -d "7432365+54321"
will encode an EAN-8 symbol with an EAN-5 add-on. As before these results can be achieved using the API:
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_EANX;
error = ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, "54321", 0, 0);
error = ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, "7432365+54321", 0, 0);
54321
7432 3654
Figure 41: zint -b EANX --compliantheight -d "7432365+54321"
All of the EAN symbols include check digits which are added by Zint.
47
If you are encoding an EAN-8 or EAN-13 symbol and your data already includes the check digit then you can
use symbology BARCODE_EANX_CHK (14) which takes an 8 or 13-digit input and validates the check digit before
encoding.
Options to adjust the add-on gap and the guard bar descent height are the same as for 6.1.3.2 UPC Version E.
6.1.4.2 SBN, ISBN and ISBN-13
9 789295 055124
Figure 42: zint -b ISBNX --compliantheight -d "9789295055124"
EAN-13 symbols (also known as Bookland EAN-13) can also be produced from 9-digit SBN, 10-digit ISBN or
13-digit ISBN-13 data. The relevant check digit needs to be present in the input data and will be verified before
the symbol is generated. In addition EAN-2 and EAN-5 add-on symbols can be added using the + character
as with UPC symbols, and there are options to adjust the add-on gap and the guard bar descent height - see
6.1.3.2 UPC Version E.
6.1.5 Plessey
6.1.5.1 UK Plessey
C64
Figure 43: zint -b PLESSEY -d "C64"
Also known as Plessey Code, this symbology was developed by the Plessey Company Ltd. in the UK. The
symbol can encode data consisting of digits (0-9) or letters A-F up to a maximum of 65 characters and includes
a CRC check digit.
6.1.5.2 MSI Plessey
650291
Figure 44: zint -b MSI_PLESSEY -d "6502" --vers=2
Based on Plessey and developed by MSI Data Corporation, MSI Plessey has a range of check digit options that
are selectable by setting --vers (API option_2). Numeric (digits 0-9) input can be encoded, up to a maximum
of 65 digits. The table below shows the options available:
48
Table : MSI Plessey Check Digit Options
Value Check Digits

0 None
1 Modulo-10 (Luhn)
2 Modulo-10 & Modulo-10
3 Modulo-11 (IBM)
4 Modulo-11 (IBM) & Modulo-10
5 Modulo-11 (NCR)
6 Modulo-11 (NCR) & Modulo-10
To not show the check digit or digits in the Human Readable Text, add 10 to the --vers value. For example
--vers=12 (API option_2 = 12) will add two hidden modulo-10 check digits.
6.1.6 Telepen
6.1.6.1 Telepen Alpha
Z80
Figure 45: zint -b TELEPEN --compliantheight -d "Z80"
Telepen Alpha was developed by SB Electronic Systems Limited and can encode ASCII text input, up to a
maximum of 30 characters. Telepen includes a modulo-127 check digit, added by Zint.
6.1.6.2 Telepen Numeric
466X33
Figure 46: zint -b TELEPEN_NUM --compliantheight -d "466X33"
Telepen Numeric allows compression of numeric data into a Telepen symbol. Data can consist of pairs of num-
bers or pairs consisting of a numerical digit followed an X character. For example: 466333 and 466X33 are valid
codes whereas 46X333 is not (the digit pair "X3" is not valid). Up to 60 digits can be encoded. Telepen Numeric
includes a modulo-127 check digit which is added by Zint.
6.1.7 Code 39
6.1.7.1 Standard Code 39 (ISO 16388)
*1AB*
Figure 47: zint -b CODE39 --compliantheight -d "1A" --vers=1
Standard Code 39 was developed in 1974 by Intermec. Input data can be up to 85 characters in length and can
include the characters 0-9, A-Z, dash (-), full stop (.), space, asterisk (*), dollar ($), slash (/), plus (+) and
percent (%). The standard does not require a check digit but a modulo-43 check digit can be added if desired
by setting --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1).
49
6.1.7.2 Extended Code 39
123.45fd
Figure 48: zint -b EXCODE39 --compliantheight -d "123.45$@fd"
Also known as Code 39e and Code39+, this symbology expands on Standard Code 39 to provide support for
the full 7-bit ASCII character set. The standard does not require a check digit but a modulo-43 check digit can
be added by setting --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1).
6.1.7.3 Code 93
C93
Figure 49: zint -b CODE93 --compliantheight -d "C93"
A variation of Extended Code 39, Code 93 also supports full ASCII text. Two check characters are added by
Zint. By default these check characters are not shown in the Human Readable Text, but may be shown by setting
--vers=1 (API option_2 = 1).
6.1.7.4 PZN (Pharmazentralnummer)
PZN - 27580899
Figure 50: zint -b PZN --compliantheight -d "2758089"
PZN is a Code 39 based symbology used by the pharmaceutical industry in Germany. PZN encodes a 7-digit
number to which Zint will add a modulo-11 check digit (PZN8). Input less than 7 digits will be zero-filled. An
8-digit input can be supplied in which case Zint will validate the check digit.
To encode a PZN7 (obsolete since 2013) instead set --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1) and supply up to 7 digits.
As with PZN8, a modulo-11 check digit will be added or if 7 digits supplied the check digit validated.
6.1.7.5 LOGMARS
12345/ABCDET
Figure 51: zint -b LOGMARS --compliantheight -d "12345/ABCDE" --vers=1
LOGMARS (Logistics Applications of Automated Marking and Reading Symbols) is a variation of the Code 39
symbology used by the U.S. Department of Defense. LOGMARS encodes the same character set as Standard
Code 39. It does not require a check digit but a modulo-43 check digit can be added by setting --vers=1 (API
option_2 = 1).
50
6.1.7.6 Code 32
A143523126
Figure 52: zint -b CODE32 --compliantheight -d "14352312"
A variation of Code 39 used by the Italian Ministry of Health (“Ministero della Sanità”) for encoding identifiers
on pharmaceutical products. This symbology requires a numeric input up to 8 digits in length. A check digit
is added by Zint.
6.1.7.7 HIBC Code 39
*+14352312J*
Figure 53: zint -b HIBC_39 --compliantheight -d "14352312"
This variant adds a leading '+' character and a trailing modulo-49 check digit to a standard Code 39 symbol
as required by the Health Industry Barcode standards.
6.1.7.8 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)
2FTPX28L0XCA15511
Figure 54: zint -b VIN -d "2FTPX28L0XCA15511" --vers=1
A variation of Code 39 that for vehicle identification numbers used in North America (first character '1' to
'5') has a check character verification stage. A 17 character input (0-9, and A-Z excluding 'I', 'O' and 'Q')
is required. An invisible Import character prefix 'I' can be added by setting --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1).
6.1.8 Codabar (EN 798)
A37859B
Figure 55: zint -b CODABAR --compliantheight -d "A37859B"
Also known as NW-7, Monarch, ABC Codabar, USD-4, Ames Code and Code 27, this symbology was developed
in 1972 by Monarch Marketing Systems for retail purposes. The American Blood Commission adopted Codabar
in 1977 as the standard symbology for blood identification. Codabar can encode up to 60 characters starting
and ending with the letters A-D and containing between these letters the numbers 0-9, dash (-), dollar ($),
colon (:), slash (/), full stop (.) or plus (+). No check character is generated by default, but a modulo-16 one
can be added by setting --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1). To have the check character appear in the Human
Readable Text, set --vers=2 (API option_2 = 2).
51
6.1.9 Pharmacode
Figure 56: zint -b PHARMA --compliantheight -d "130170"
Developed by Laetus, Pharmacode is used for the identification of pharmaceuticals. The symbology is able to
encode whole numbers between 3 and 131070.
6.1.10 Code 128

6.1.10.1 Standard Code 128 (ISO 15417)
130170X178
Figure 57: zint -b CODE128 --bind -d "130170X178"
One of the most ubiquitous one-dimensional barcode symbologies, Code 128 was developed in 1981 by Com-
puter Identics. This symbology supports full ASCII text and uses a three-mode system to compress the data
into a smaller symbol. Zint automatically switches between modes and adds a modulo-103 check digit. Code
128 is the default barcode symbology used by Zint. In addition Zint supports the encoding of ISO/IEC 8859-1
(non-English) characters in Code 128 symbols. The ISO/IEC 8859-1 character set is shown in Appendix A.2
Latin Alphabet No. 1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1).
6.1.10.2 Code 128 Suppress Subset C (Subsets A and B only)
130170X178
Figure 58: zint -b CODE128AB -d "130170X178"
It is sometimes advantageous to stop Code 128 from using subset mode C which compresses numerical data.
The BARCODE_CODE128AB10 variant (symbology 60) suppresses mode C in favour of modes A and B.
6.1.10.3 GS1-128
(01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231
Figure 59: zint -b GS1_128 --compliantheight -d "[01]98898765432106[3202]012345[15]991231"
A variation of Code 128 previously known as UCC/EAN-128, this symbology is defined by the GS1 General
Specifications. Application Identifiers (AIs) should be entered using [square bracket] notation. These will be
10
BARCODE_CODE128AB previously used the name BARCODE_CODE128B, which is still recognised.
52
converted to parentheses (round brackets) for the Human Readable Text. This will allow round brackets to be
used in the data strings to be encoded.
For compatibility with data entry in other systems, if the data does not include round brackets, the option
--gs1parens (API input_mode |= GS1PARENS_MODE) may be used to signal that AIs are encased in round
brackets instead of square ones.
Fixed length data should be entered at the appropriate length for correct encoding. GS1-128 does not support
extended ASCII characters. Check digits for GTIN data AI (01) are not generated and need to be included in
the input data. The following is an example of a valid GS1-128 input:
zint -b 16 -d "[01]98898765432106[3202]012345[15]991231"
or using the --gs1parens option:

zint -b 16 --gs1parens -d "(01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231"
6.1.10.4 EAN-14
(01)98898765432106
Figure 60: zint -b EAN14 --compliantheight -d "9889876543210"
A shorter version of GS1-128 which encodes GTIN data only. A 13-digit number is required. The GTIN check
digit and AI (01) are added by Zint.
6.1.10.5 NVE-18 (SSCC-18)
(00)376123450000010039
Figure 61: zint -b NVE18 --compliantheight -d "37612345000001003"
A variation of Code 128 the ‘Nummer der Versandeinheit’ standard, also known as SSCC-18 (Serial Shipping
Container Code), includes both modulo-10 and modulo-103 check digits. NVE-18 requires a 17-digit numerical
input. Check digits and AI (00) are added by Zint.
6.1.10.6 HIBC Code 128
*+A123BJC5D6E71G*
Figure 62: zint -b HIBC_128 -d "A123BJC5D6E71"
This option adds a leading '+' character and a trailing modulo-49 check digit to a standard Code 128 symbol
as required by the Health Industry Barcode standards.
53
6.1.10.7 DPD Code
0003 932 0621 9912 3456 78 101 040 9
Figure 63: zint -b DPD --compliantheight -d "000393206219912345678101040"
Another variation of Code 128 as used by DPD (Deutscher Paketdienst). Requires a 27 or 28 character input.
For 28 character input, the first character is an identification tag (Barcode ID), which should usually be "%"
(ASCII 37). If 27 characters are supplied, "%" will be prefixed by Zint (except if marked as a “relabel”, see
below). The rest of the 27-character input must be alphanumeric, and is of the form:
Table : DPD Input Fields
Destination Post Code Tracking Number Service Code Dest. Country Code
PPPPPPP TTTTTTTTTTTTTT SSS CCC
(7 alphanumerics) (14 alphanumerics) (3 digits) (3-digit ISO 3166-1)
A warning will be generated if the Service Code, the Destination Country Code, or the last 10 characters of the
Tracking Number are non-numeric.
Zint formats the Human Readable Text as specified by DPD, leaving out the identication tag, and adds a modulo-
36 check character to the text (not to the barcode itself), thus:
PPPP PPP TTTT TTTT TTTT TT SSS CCC D
By default a top boundary bar is added, with default width 3X. The width can be overridden using --border
(API border_width). For a symbol with no top boundary bar, explicitly set the border type to bindtop (or bind
or box) and leave the border width 0.
A DPD Code can be marked as a “relabel” by specifying --vers=1 (API option_2 = 1), which omits the
identification tag and prints the barcode at half height. In this case, an input of 27 alphanumeric characters is
required.
6.1.10.8 UPU S10
EE 876 543 216 CA
Figure 64: zint -b UPU_S10 --compliantheight -d "EE876543216CA"
The Universal Postal Union S10 variant of Code 128 encodes 13 characters in the format "SSNNNNNNNNXCC",
where "SS" is a two-character alphabetic service indicator, "NNNNNNNN" is an 8-digit serial number, "X" is a
modulo-11 check digit, and "CC" is a two-character ISO 3166-1 country code.
The check digit may be omitted in which case Zint will add it. Warnings will be generated if the service indicator
is non-standard or the country code is not ISO 3361-1.
54
6.1.11 GS1 DataBar (ISO 24724)
Previously known as RSS (Reduced Spaced Symbology), these symbols are due to replace GS1-128 symbols in
accordance with the GS1 General Specifications. If a GS1 DataBar symbol is to be printed with a 2D component
as specified in ISO/IEC 24723 set --mode=2 (API option_1 = 2). See 6.3 GS1 Composite Symbols (ISO 24723)
to find out how to generate DataBar symbols with 2D components.
6.1.11.1 GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional and GS1 DataBar Truncated
(01)09501101530010
Figure 65: zint -b DBAR_OMN --compliantheight -d "0950110153001"
Previously known as RSS-14 this standard encodes a 13-digit item code. A check digit and Application Identifier
of (01) are added by Zint. (A 14-digit code that appends the check digit may be given, in which case the check
digit will be verified.)
GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional symbols should have a height of 33 or greater. To produce a GS1 DataBar Trun-
cated symbol set the symbol height to a value between 13 and 32. Truncated symbols may not be scannable by
omnidirectional scanners.
(01)09501101530010
Figure 66: zint -b DBAR_OMN -d "0950110153001" --height=13
6.1.11.2 GS1 DataBar Limited
(01)09501101530010
Figure 67: zint -b DBAR_LTD --compliantheight -d "0950110153001"
Previously known as RSS Limited this standard encodes a 13-digit item code and can be used in the same way
as GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional above. GS1 DataBar Limited, however, is limited to data starting with digits 0
and 1 (i.e. numbers in the range 0 to 1999999999999). As with GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional a check digit and
Application Identifier of (01) are added by Zint, and a 14-digit code may be given in which case the check digit
will be verified.
6.1.11.3 GS1 DataBar Expanded
(01)98898765432106(3202)012345(15)991231
Figure 68: zint -b DBAR_EXP --compliantheight -d "[01]98898765432106[3202]012345[15]991231"
Previously known as RSS Expanded this is a variable length symbology capable of encoding data from a num-
ber of AIs in a single symbol. AIs should be encased in [square brackets] in the input data, which will be
converted to parentheses (round brackets) before being included in the Human Readable Text attached to the
symbol. This method allows the inclusion of parentheses in the data to be encoded. If the data does not include
parentheses, the AIs may alternatively be encased in parentheses using the --gs1parens switch. See 6.1.10.3
GS1-128.
GTIN data AI (01) should also include the check digit data as this is not calculated by Zint when this symbology
is encoded. Fixed length data should be entered at the appropriate length for correct encoding. The following
is an example of a valid GS1 DataBar Expanded input:
55
zint -b 31 -d "[01]98898765432106[3202]012345[15]991231"
6.1.12 Korea Post Barcode
9234570
Figure 69: zint -b KOREAPOST -d "923457"
The Korean Postal Barcode is used to encode a 6-digit number and includes one check digit.
6.1.13 Channel Code
453678
Figure 70: zint -b CHANNEL -d "453678" --compliantheight
A highly compressed symbol for numeric data. The number of channels in the symbol can be between 3 and 8
and this can be specified by setting the value of the --vers option (API option_2). It can also be determined
by the length of the input data e.g. a three character input string generates a 4 channel code by default.
The maximum values permitted depend on the number of channels used as shown in the table below:
Table : Channel Value Ranges
Channels Minimum Value Maximum Value

3 00 26
4 000 292
5 0000 3493
6 00000 44072
7 000000 576688
8 0000000 7742862
6.1.14 BC412 (SEMI T1-95)
AQQ45670
Figure 71: zint -b BC412 -d "AQ45670" --compliantheight
Designed by IBM for marking silicon wafers, each BC412 character is represented by 4 bars of a single size,
interleaved with 4 spaces of varying sizes that total 8 (hence 4 bars in 12). Zint implements the SEMI T1-95
standard, where input must be alphanumeric, excluding the letter O, and must be from 7 to 18 characters in
length. A single check character is added by Zint, appearing in the 2nd character position. Lowercase input is
automatically made uppercase.
56
6.2 Stacked Symbologies
6.2.1 Basic Symbol Stacking
An early innovation to get more information into a symbol, used primarily in the vehicle industry, is to simply
stack one-dimensional codes on top of each other. This can be achieved at the command prompt by giving more
than one set of input data. For example
zint -d "This" -d "That"
will draw two Code 128 symbols, one on top of the other. The same result can be achieved using the API by
executing the ZBarcode_Encode() function more than once on a symbol. For example:
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_CODE128;
error = ZBarcode_Encode(my_symbol, "This", 0);
error = ZBarcode_Encode(my_symbol, "That", 0);
error = ZBarcode_Print(my_symbol);
That
Figure 72: zint -d "This" -d "That"
Note that the Human Readable Text will be that of the last data, so it’s best to use the option --notext (API
show_hrt = 0).
The stacked barcode rows can be separated by row separator bars by specifying --bind (API output_options
|= BARCODE_BIND). The height of the row separator bars in multiples of the X-dimension (minimum and default
1, maximum 4) can be set by --separator (API option_3):
zint --bind --notext --separator=2 -d "This" -d "That"
Figure 73: zint --notext --bind --separator=2 -d "This" -d "That"
A more sophisticated method is to use some type of line indexing which indicates to the barcode reader which
order the stacked symbols should be read in. This is demonstrated by the symbologies below.
6.2.2 Codablock-F
Figure 74: zint -b CODABLOCKF -d "CODABLOCK F Symbology" --rows=3
This is a stacked symbology based on Code 128 which can encode extended ASCII code set data up to a maxi-
mum length of 2725 characters. The width of the Codablock-F symbol can be set using the --cols option (API
option_2). The height (number of rows) can be set using the --rows option (API option_1). Zint does not
currently support encoding of GS1 data in Codablock-F symbols.
57
A separate symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_BLOCKF) can be used to encode Health Industry Barcode (HIBC)
data which adds a leading '+' character and a modulo-49 check digit to the encoded data.
6.2.3 Code 16K (EN 12323)
Figure 75: zint -b CODE16K --compliantheight -d "ab0123456789"
Code 16K uses a Code 128 based system which can stack up to 16 rows in a block. This gives a maximum
data capacity of 77 characters or 154 numerical digits and includes two modulo-107 check digits. Code 16K
also supports extended ASCII character encoding in the same manner as Code 128. GS1 data encoding is also
supported. The minimum number of rows to use can be set using the --rows option (API option_1), with
values from 2 to 16.
6.2.4 PDF417 (ISO 15438)
Figure 76: zint -b PDF417 -d "PDF417"
Heavily used in the parcel industry, the PDF417 symbology can encode a vast amount of data into a small
space. Zint supports encoding up to the ISO standard maximum symbol size of 925 codewords which (at error
correction level 0) allows a maximum data size of 1850 text characters, or 2710 digits.
The width of the generated PDF417 symbol can be specified at the command line using the --cols switch
(API option_2) followed by a number between 1 and 30, the number of rows using the --rows switch (API
option_3) followed by a number between 3 and 90, and the amount of error correction information can be
specified by using the --secure switch (API option_1) followed by a number between 0 and 8 where the
number of codewords used for error correction is determined by 2^(value + 1). The default level of error
correction is determined by the amount of data being encoded.
This symbology uses Latin-1 character encoding by default but also supports the ECI encoding mechanism. A
separate symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_PDF) can be used to encode Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data.
For a faster but less optimal encoding, the --fast option (API input_mode |= FAST_MODE) may be used.
PDF417 supports Structured Append of up to 99,999 symbols and an optional numeric ID of up to 30 digits,
which can be set by using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). The ID
consists of up to 10 triplets, each ranging from "000" to "899". For instance "123456789" would be a valid ID
of 3 triplets. However "123456900" would not, as the last triplet "900" exceeds "899". The triplets are 0-filled,
for instance "1234" becomes "123004". If an ID is not given, no ID is encoded.
6.2.5 Compact PDF417 (ISO 15438)
Figure 77: zint -b PDF417COMP -d "PDF417"
Previously known as Truncated PDF417, Compact PDF417 omits some per-row overhead to produce a narrower
but less robust symbol. Options are the same as for PDF417 above.
58
6.2.6 MicroPDF417 (ISO 24728)
Figure 78: zint -b MICROPDF417 -d "12345678"
A variation of the PDF417 standard, MicroPDF417 is intended for applications where symbol size needs to be
kept to a minimum. 34 predefined symbol sizes are available with 1 - 4 columns and 4 - 44 rows. The maximum
amount a MicroPDF417 symbol can hold is 250 alphanumeric characters or 366 digits. The amount of error
correction used is dependent on symbol size. The number of columns used can be determined using the --
cols switch (API option_2) as with PDF417.
This symbology uses Latin-1 character encoding by default but also supports the ECI encoding mechanism. A
separate symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_MICPDF) can be used to encode Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data.
MicroPDF417 supports FAST_MODE and Structured Append the same as PDF417, for which see details.
6.2.7 GS1 DataBar Stacked (ISO 24724)

6.2.7.1 GS1 DataBar Stacked
Figure 79: zint -b DBAR_STK --compliantheight -d "9889876543210"
A stacked variation of the GS1 DataBar Truncated symbol requiring the same input (see 6.1.11.1 GS1 DataBar
Omnidirectional and GS1 DataBar Truncated), this symbol is the same as the following GS1 DataBar Stacked
Omnidirectional symbol except that its height is reduced and its central separator is a single row, making it suit-
able for small items when omnidirectional scanning is not required. It can be generated with a two-dimensional
component to make a composite symbol.
6.2.7.2 GS1 DataBar Stacked Omnidirectional
Figure 80: zint -b DBAR_OMNSTK --compliantheight -d "9889876543210"
A stacked variation of the GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional symbol requiring the same input (see 6.1.11.1 GS1
DataBar Omnidirectional and GS1 DataBar Truncated). The data is encoded in two rows of bars with a central 3-
row separator. This symbol can be generated with a two-dimensional component to make a composite symbol.
6.2.7.3 GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
Figure 81: zint -b DBAR_EXPSTK --compliantheight -d "[01]98898765432106[3202]012345[15]991231"
59
A stacked variation of the GS1 DataBar Expanded symbol for smaller packages. Input is the same as for GS1
DataBar Expanded (see 6.1.11.3 GS1 DataBar Expanded). In addition the width of the symbol can be altered
using the --cols switch (API option_2). In this case the number of columns (values 1 to 11) relates to the
number of character pairs on each row of the symbol. Alternatively the --rows switch (API option_3) can be
used to specify the maximum number of rows (values 2 to 11), and the number of columns will be adjusted
accordingly. This symbol can be generated with a two-dimensional component to make a composite symbol.
For symbols with a 2D component the number of columns must be at least 2.
6.2.8 Code 49
Figure 82: zint -b CODE49 --compliantheight -d "MULTIPLE ROWS IN CODE 49"
Developed in 1987 at Intermec, Code 49 is a cross between UPC and Code 39. It is one of the earliest stacked
symbologies and influenced the design of Code 16K a few years later. It supports full 7-bit ASCII input up to a
maximum of 49 characters or 81 numeric digits. GS1 data encoding is also supported. The minimum number
of rows to use can be set using the --rows option (API option_1), with values from 2 to 8.
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6.3 GS1 Composite Symbols (ISO 24723)
Composite symbols employ a mixture of components to give more comprehensive information about a product.
The permissible contents of a composite symbol is determined by the terms of the GS1 General Specifications.
Composite symbols consist of a linear component which can be an EAN, UPC, GS1-128 or GS1 DataBar symbol,
a two-dimensional (2D) component which is based on PDF417 or MicroPDF417, and a separator pattern. The
type of linear component to be used is determined using the -b or --barcode switch (API symbology) as with
other encoding methods. Valid values are shown below.
Table : Composite Symbology Values
Numeric
130 BARCODE_EANX_CC Composite Symbol with EAN linear component
131 BARCODE_GS1_128_CC Composite Symbol with GS1-128 linear component
132 BARCODE_DBAR_OMN_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Omnidirectional
linear component
133 BARCODE_DBAR_LTD_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Limited linear
component
134 BARCODE_DBAR_EXP_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Expanded linear
component
135 BARCODE_UPCA_CC Composite Symbol with UPC-A linear component
136 BARCODE_UPCE_CC Composite Symbol with UPC-E linear component
137 BARCODE_DBAR_STK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Stacked component
138 BARCODE_DBAR_OMNSTK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Stacked
Omnidirectional component
139 BARCODE_DBAR_EXPSTK_CC Composite Symbol with GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
component
The data to be encoded in the linear component of a composite symbol should be entered into a primary string
with the data for the 2D component being entered in the normal way. To do this at the command prompt use
the --primary switch (API primary). For example:
zint -b EANX_CC --mode=1 --primary=331234567890 -d "[99]1234-abcd"
This creates an EAN-13 linear component with the data "331234567890" and a 2D CC-A (see below) compo-
nent with the data "(99)1234-abcd". The same results can be achieved using the API as shown below:
my_symbol->symbology = BARCODE_EANX_CC;
my_symbol->option_1 = 1;
strcpy(my_symbol->primary, "331234567890");
ZBarcode_Encode_and_Print(my_symbol, "[99]1234-abcd", 0, 0);
EAN-2 and EAN-5 add-on data can be used with EAN and UPC symbols using the + symbol as described
in sections 6.1.3 UPC (Universal Product Code) (ISO 15420) and 6.1.4 EAN (European Article Number) (ISO
15420).
The 2D component of a composite symbol can use one of three systems: CC-A, CC-B and CC-C, as described
below. The 2D component type can be selected automatically by Zint dependent on the length of the input
string. Alternatively the three methods can be accessed using the --mode prompt (API option_1) followed by
1, 2 or 3 for CC-A, CC-B or CC-C respectively.
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6.3.1 CC-A
3 312345 678903
Figure 83: zint -b EANX_CC --compliantheight -d "[99]1234-abcd" --mode=1 --primary=331234567890
This system uses a variation of MicroPDF417 which is optimised to fit into a small space. The size of the 2D
component and the amount of error correction is determined by the amount of data to be encoded and the type
of linear component which is being used. CC-A can encode up to 56 numeric digits or an alphanumeric string
of shorter length. To select CC-A use --mode=1 (API option_1 = 1).
6.3.2 CC-B
3 312345 678903
Figure 84: zint -b EANX_CC --compliantheight -d "[99]1234-abcd" --mode=2 --primary=331234567890
This system uses MicroPDF417 to encode the 2D component. The size of the 2D component and the amount of
error correction is determined by the amount of data to be encoded and the type of linear component which is
being used. CC-B can encode up to 338 numeric digits or an alphanumeric string of shorter length. To select
CC-B use --mode=2 (API option_1 = 2).
6.3.3 CC-C
(01)03312345678903
Figure 85: zint -b GS1_128_CC --compliantheight -d "[99]1234-abcd" --mode=3 --

primary="[01]03312345678903"
This system uses PDF417 and can only be used in conjunction with a GS1-128 linear component. CC-C can
encode up to 2361 numeric digits or an alphanumeric string of shorter length. To select CC-C use --mode=3
(API option_1 = 3).
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6.4 Two-Track Symbols
6.4.1 Two-Track Pharmacode
Figure 86: zint -b PHARMA_TWO --compliantheight -d "29876543"
Developed by Laetus, Pharmacode Two-Track is an alternative system to Pharmacode One-Track (see 6.1.9
Pharmacode) used for the identification of pharmaceuticals. The symbology is able to encode whole numbers
between 4 and 64570080.
6.4.2 POSTNET
Figure 87: zint -b POSTNET --compliantheight -d "12345678901"
Used by the United States Postal Service until 2009, the POSTNET barcode was used for encoding zip-codes on
mail items. POSTNET uses numerical input data and includes a modulo-10 check digit. While Zint will encode
POSTNET symbols of up to 38 digits in length, standard lengths as used by USPS were PostNet6 (5-digit ZIP
input), PostNet10 (5-digit ZIP + 4-digit user data) and PostNet12 (5-digit ZIP + 6-digit user data), and a
warning will be issued if the input length is not one of these.
6.4.3 PLANET
Figure 88: zint -b PLANET --compliantheight -d "4012345235636"
Used by the United States Postal Service until 2009, the PLANET (Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique)
barcode was used for encoding routing data on mail items. PLANET uses numerical input data and includes a
modulo-10 check digit. While Zint will encode PLANET symbols of up to 38 digits in length, standard lengths
used by USPS were Planet12 (11-digit input) and Planet14 (13-digit input), and as with POSTNET a warning
will be issued if the length is not one of these.
6.4.4 Brazilian CEPNet
Figure 89: zint -b CEPNET --compliantheight -d "12345678"
Based on POSTNET, the CEPNet symbol is used by Correios, the Brazilian postal service, to encode CEP
(Código de Endereçamento Postal) numbers on mail items. Input should consist of eight digits with the check
digit being automatically added by Zint.
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6.5 4-State Postal Codes
6.5.1 Australia Post 4-State Symbols
6.5.1.1 Customer Barcodes
Figure 90: zint -b AUSPOST --compliantheight -d "96184209"
Australia Post Standard Customer Barcode, Customer Barcode 2 and Customer Barcode 3 are 37-bar, 52-bar
and 67-bar specifications respectively, developed by Australia Post for printing Delivery Point ID (DPID) and
customer information on mail items. Valid data characters are 0-9, A-Z, a-z, space and hash (#). A Format Con-
trol Code (FCC) is added by Zint and should not be included in the input data. Reed-Solomon error correction
data is generated by Zint. Encoding behaviour is determined by the length of the input data according to the
formula shown in the following table.
Table : Australia Post Input Formats
Symbol Encoding
Input Length Required Input Format Length FCC Table
8 99999999 37-bar 11 None
13 99999999AAAAA 52-bar 59 C
16 9999999999999999 52-bar 59 N
18 99999999AAAAAAAAAA 67-bar 62 C
23 99999999999999999999999 67-bar 62 N
6.5.1.2 Reply Paid Barcode
Figure 91: zint -b AUSREPLY --compliantheight -d "12345678"
A Reply Paid version of the Australia Post 4-State Barcode (FCC 45) which requires an 8-digit DPID input.
6.5.1.3 Routing Barcode
Figure 92: zint -b AUSROUTE --compliantheight -d "34567890"
A Routing version of the Australia Post 4-State Barcode (FCC 87) which requires an 8-digit DPID input.
6.5.1.4 Redirect Barcode
Figure 93: zint -b AUSREDIRECT --compliantheight -d "98765432"
A Redirection version of the Australia Post 4-State Barcode (FCC 92) which requires an 8-digit DPID input.
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6.5.2 Dutch Post KIX Code
Figure 94: zint -b KIX --compliantheight -d "2500GG30250"
This symbology is used by Royal Dutch TPG Post (Netherlands) for Postal code and automatic mail sorting.
Data input can consist of numbers 0-9 and letters A-Z and needs to be 11 characters in length. No check digit
is included.
6.5.3 Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code (RM4SCC)
Figure 95: zint -b RM4SCC --compliantheight -d "W1J0TR01"
The RM4SCC standard is used by the Royal Mail in the UK to encode postcode and customer data on mail
items. Data input can consist of numbers 0-9 and letters A-Z and usually includes delivery postcode followed
by house number. For example "W1J0TR01" for 1 Piccadilly Circus in London. Check digit data is generated by
Zint.
6.5.4 Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark
Figure 96: zint -b MAILMARK_4S --compliantheight -d "1100000000000XY11"
Developed in 2014 as a replacement for RM4SCC this 4-state symbol includes Reed Solomon error correction.
Input is a pre-formatted alphanumeric string of 22 (for Barcode C) or 26 (for Barcode L) characters, producing a
symbol with 66 or 78 bars respectively. The rules for the input data are complex, as summarized in the following
table.
Table : Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark Input Fields
Format Version ID Class Supply Chain ID Item ID Destination+DPS

1 digit 1 digit 1 alphanum. 2 digits (C) or 8 digits 9 alphanumerics
(0-4) (0-3) (0-9A-E) 6 digits (L) (1 of 6 patterns)
The 6 Destination+DPS (Destination Post Code plus Delivery Point Suffix) patterns are 'FNFNLLNLS',
'FFNNLLNLS', 'FFNNNLLNL', 'FFNFNLLNL', 'FNNLLNLSS' and 'FNNNLLNLS', where 'F' stands for full
alphabetic (A-Z), 'L' for limited alphabetic (A-Z less 'CIKMOV'), 'N' for numeric (0-9), and 'S' for space.
Four of the permitted patterns include a number of trailing space characters - these will be appended by Zint
if not included in the input data.
For the two-dimensional Data Matrix-based version, see 6.6.2 Royal Mail 2D Mailmark (CMDM) (Data Matrix).
6.5.5 USPS Intelligent Mail
Figure 97: zint -b USPS_IMAIL --compliantheight -d "01234567094987654321-01234"
Also known as the OneCode barcode and used in the U.S. by the United States Postal Service (USPS), the
Intelligent Mail system replaced the POSTNET and PLANET symbologies in 2009. Intelligent Mail is a fixed
length (65-bar) symbol which combines routing and customer information in a single symbol. Input data
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consists of a 20-digit tracking code, followed by a dash (-), followed by a delivery point zip-code which can be
0, 5, 9 or 11 digits in length. For example all of the following inputs are valid data entries:
• "01234567094987654321"
• "01234567094987654321-01234"
• "01234567094987654321-012345678"
• "01234567094987654321-01234567891"
6.5.6 Japanese Postal Code
Figure 98: zint -b JAPANPOST --compliantheight -d "15400233-16-4-205"
Used for address data on mail items for Japan Post. Accepted values are 0-9, A-Z and dash (-). A modulo 19
check digit is added by Zint.
6.5.7 DAFT Code
Figure 99: zint -b DAFT -d "AAFDTTDAFADTFTTFFFDATFTADTTFFTDAFAFDTF" --height=8.494 --vers=256
This is a method for creating 4-state codes where the data encoding is provided by an external program. Input
data should consist of the letters 'D', 'A', 'F' and 'T' where these refer to descender, ascender, full (ascender
and descender) and tracker (neither ascender nor descender) respectively. All other characters are invalid.
The ratio of the tracker size to full height can be given in thousandths (permille) using the --vers option (API
option_2). The default value is 250 (25%).
For example the following

zint -b DAFT -d AAFDTTDAFADTFTTFFFDATFTADTTFFTDAFAFDTF --height=8.494 --vers=256
produces the same barcode (see 6.5.3 Royal Mail 4-State Customer Code (RM4SCC)) as
zint -b RM4SCC --compliantheight -d "W1J0TR01"
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6.6 Matrix Symbols
6.6.1 Data Matrix (ISO 16022)
Figure 100: zint -b HIBC_DM -d "/ACMRN123456/V200912190833" --fast --square
Also known as Semacode this symbology was developed in 1989 by Acuity CiMatrix in partnership with the U.S.
DoD and NASA. The symbol can encode a large amount of data in a small area. Data Matrix encodes characters
in the Latin-1 set by default but also supports encoding in other character sets using the ECI mechanism. It
can also encode GS1 data. The size of the generated symbol can be adjusted using the --vers option (API
option_2) as shown in the table below. A separate symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_DM) can be used to encode
Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data. Note that only ECC200 encoding is supported, the older standards have
now been removed from Zint.
Table : Data Matrix Sizes
Input Symbol Size Input Symbol Size Input Symbol Size

1 10 x 10 11 36 x 36 21 104 x 104
2 12 x 12 12 40 x 40 22 120 x 120
3 14 x 14 13 44 x 44 23 132 x 132
4 16 x 16 14 48 x 48 24 144 x 144
5 18 x 18 15 52 x 52 25 8 x 18
6 20 x 20 16 64 x 64 26 8 x 32
7 22 x 22 17 72 x 72 28 12 x 26
8 24 x 24 18 80 x 80 28 12 x 36
9 26 x 26 19 88 x 88 29 16 x 36
10 32 x 32 20 96 x 96 30 16 x 48
When using automatic symbol sizes you can force Zint to use square symbols (versions 1-24) at the command
line by using the option --square (API option_3 = DM_SQUARE).
Data Matrix Rectangular Extension (ISO/IEC 21471) codes may be generated with the following values as
before:
Table : DMRE Sizes
Input Symbol Size Input Symbol Size

31 8 x 48 40 20 x 36
32 8 x 64 41 20 x 44
33 8 x 80 42 20 x 64
34 8 x 96 43 22 x 48
35 8 x 120 44 24 x 48
36 8 x 144 45 24 x 64
37 12 x 64 46 26 x 40
38 12 x 88 47 26 x 48
39 16 x 64 48 26 x 64
DMRE symbol sizes may be activated in automatic size mode using the option --dmre (API option_3 =
DM_DMRE).
GS1 data may be encoded using FNC1 (default) or GS as separator. Use the option --gssep to change to GS
(API output_options |= GS1_GS_SEPARATOR).
For a faster but less optimal encoding, the --fast option (API input_mode |= FAST_MODE) may be used.
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Data Matrix supports Structured Append of up to 16 symbols and a numeric ID (file identifications), which
can be set by using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). The ID consists
of 2 numbers ID1 and ID2, each of which can range from 1 to 254, and is specified as the single number ID1 *
1000 + ID2, so for instance ID1 "123" and ID2 "234" would be given as "123234". Note that both ID1 and
ID2 must be non-zero, so e.g. "123000" or "000123" would be invalid IDs. If an ID is not given it defaults to
"001001".
6.6.2 Royal Mail 2D Mailmark (CMDM) (Data Matrix)
Figure 101: zint -b MAILMARK_2D -d "JGB 01Z999999900000001EC1A1AA1A0SN35TQ" --vers=30
This variant of Data Matrix, also known as “Complex Mail Data Mark” (CMDM), was introduced by Royal
Mail along with 6.5.4 Royal Mail 4-State Mailmark, and offers space for customer data following the initial
pre-formatted 45 character section, an expanded version of the 4-state one, as summarized below.
Table : Royal Mail 2D Mailmark Input Fields
Field Name Length Values

UPU Country ID 4 "JGB "
Information Type 1 Alphanumeric
Version ID 1 "1"
Class 1 Alphanumeric
Supply Chain ID 7 Numeric
Item ID 8 Numeric
Destination+DPS 9 Alphanumeric (1 of 6 patterns)
Service Type 1 Numeric
RTS Post Code 7 Alphanumeric (1 of 6 patterns)
Reserved 6 Spaces
Customer Data 6, 45 or 29 Anything (Latin-1 plus ASCII)
The 6 Destination+DPS (Destination Post Code plus Delivery Point Suffix) patterns are the same as for the
4-state. The 6 RTS (Return to Sender) Post Code patterns are the same also except without the additional DPS
'NL', i.e. 'FNFNLLS', 'FFNNLLS', 'FFNNNLL', 'FFNFNLL', 'FNNLLSS' and 'FNNNLLS'.
Three sizes are defined, one rectangular, with varying maximum amounts of optional customer data:
Table : Royal Mail 2D Mailmark Sizes
Name Size Customer Data Zint Version

Type 7 24 x 24 6 characters 8
Zint will automatically select a size based on the amount of customer data, or it can be specified using the --vers
option (API option_2), which takes the Zint version number (one more than the Royal Mail Type number).
Zint will prefix the input data with "JGB " if it’s missing, and also space-pad the input to 45 characters when
there is no customer data. As with Data Matrix, the rectangular symbol Type 29 can be excluded from automatic
size selection by using the option --square (API option_3 = DM_SQUARE).
GS1 data, the ECI mechanism, and Structured Append are not supported.
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6.6.3 QR Code (ISO 18004)
Figure 102: zint -b QRCODE -d "QR Code Symbol" --mask=5
Also known as Quick Response Code this symbology was developed by Denso. Four levels of error correction
are available using the --secure option (API option_1) as shown in the following table.
Table : QR Code ECC Levels
Input ECC Level Error Correction Capacity Recovery Capacity

1 L Approx 20% of symbol Approx 7%
2 M Approx 37% of symbol Approx 15%
3 Q Approx 55% of symbol Approx 25%
4 H Approx 65% of symbol Approx 30%
The size of the symbol can be specified by setting the --vers option (API option_2) to the QR Code version
required (1-40). The size of symbol generated is shown in the table below.
Table : QR Code Sizes

1 21 x 21 15 77 x 77 29 133 x 133
2 25 x 25 16 81 x 81 30 137 x 137
3 29 x 29 17 85 x 85 31 141 x 141
4 33 x 33 18 89 x 89 32 145 x 145
5 37 x 37 19 93 x 93 33 149 x 149
6 41 x 41 20 97 x 97 34 153 x 153
7 45 x 45 21 101 x 101 35 157 x 157
8 49 x 49 22 105 x 105 36 161 x 161
9 53 x 53 23 109 x 109 37 165 x 165
10 57 x 57 24 113 x 113 38 169 x 169
11 61 x 61 25 117 x 117 39 173 x 173
12 65 x 65 26 121 x 121 40 177 x 177
13 69 x 69 27 125 x 125
14 73 x 73 28 129 x 129
The maximum capacity of a QR Code symbol (version 40) is 7089 numeric digits, 4296 alphanumeric characters
or 2953 bytes of data. QR Code symbols can also be used to encode GS1 data. QR Code symbols can by default
encode either characters in the Latin-1 set or Kanji, Katakana and ASCII characters which are members of the
Shift JIS encoding scheme. In addition QR Code supports other character sets using the ECI mechanism. Input
should usually be entered as UTF-8 with conversion to Latin-1 or Shift JIS being carried out by Zint. A separate
symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_QR) can be used to encode Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data.
Non-ASCII data density may be maximized by using the --fullmultibyte switch (API option_3 =
ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE), but check that your barcode reader supports this before using.
QR Code has eight different masks designed to minimize unwanted patterns. The best mask to use is selected
automatically by Zint but may be manually specified by using the --mask switch with values 0-7, or in the API
by setting option_3 = (N + 1) << 8 where N is 0-7. To use with ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE set
option_3 = ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE | (N + 1) << 8
The --fast option (API input_mode |= FAST_MODE) may be used when leaving Zint to automatically select a
mask to reduce the number of masks to try to four (0, 2, 4, 7).
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QR Code supports Structured Append of up to 16 symbols and a numeric ID (parity), which can be set by
using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). The parity ID ranges from 0
(default) to 255, and for full compliance should be set to the value obtained by XOR-ing together each byte of
the complete data forming the sequence. Currently this calculation must be done outside of Zint.
6.6.4 Micro QR Code (ISO 18004)
Figure 103: zint -b MICROQR -d "01234567"
A miniature version of the QR Code symbol for short messages, Micro QR Code symbols can encode either
Latin-1 characters or Shift JIS characters. Input should be entered as a UTF-8 stream with conversion to Latin-1
or Shift JIS being carried out automatically by Zint. A preferred symbol size can be selected by using the --vers
option (API option_2), as shown in the table below. Note that versions M1 and M2 have restrictions on what
characters can be encoded.
Table : Micro QR Code Sizes
Input Version Symbol Size Allowed Characters

1 M1 11 x 11 Numeric only
2 M2 13 x 13 Numeric, uppercase letters, space, and the
characters "$%*+-./:"
3 M3 15 x 15 Latin-1 and Shift JIS
4 M4 17 x 17 Latin-1 and Shift JIS
Except for version M1, which is always ECC level L, the amount of ECC codewords can be adjusted using the
--secure option (API option_1); however ECC level H is not available for any version, and ECC level Q is
only available for version M4:
Available for
Input ECC Level Error Correction Capacity Recovery Capacity Versions
1 L Approx 20% of symbol Approx 7% M1, M2, M3, M4
2 M Approx 37% of symbol Approx 15% M2, M3, M4
3 Q Approx 55% of symbol Approx 25% M4
The defaults for symbol size and ECC level depend on the input and whether either of them is specified.
For barcode readers that support it, non-ASCII data density may be maximized by using the --fullmultibyte
switch (API option_3 = ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE).
Micro QR Code has four different masks designed to minimize unwanted patterns. The best mask to use is
selected automatically by Zint but may be manually specified by using the --mask switch with values 0-3, or in
the API by setting option_3 = (N + 1) << 8 where N is 0-3. To use with ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE set
6.6.5 Rectangular Micro QR Code (rMQR) (ISO 23941)
Figure 104: zint -b RMQR -d "0123456"
A rectangular version of QR Code, rMQR supports encoding of GS1 data, and either Latin-1 characters or
Shift JIS characters, and other encodings using the ECI mechanism. As with other symbologies data should be
70
entered as UTF-8 with conversion being handled by Zint. The amount of ECC codewords can be adjusted using
the --secure option (API option_1), however only ECC levels M and H are valid for this type of symbol.
Table : rMQR ECC Levels
Input ECC Level Error Correction Capacity Recovery Capacity

2 M Approx 37% of symbol Approx 15%
4 H Approx 65% of symbol Approx 30%
The preferred symbol sizes can be selected using the --vers option (API option_2) as shown in the table below.
Input values between 33 and 38 fix the height of the symbol while allowing Zint to determine the minimum
symbol width.
Table : rMQR Sizes
Input Version Symbol Size (HxW) Input Version Symbol Size (HxW)
1 R7x43 7 x 73 20 R13x77 13 x 77
2 R7x59 7 x 59 21 R13x99 13 x 99
3 R7x77 7 x 77 22 R13x139 13 x 139
4 R7x99 7 x 99 23 R15x43 15 x 43
5 R7x139 7 x 139 24 R15x59 15 x 59
6 R9x43 9 x 43 25 R15x77 15 x 77
7 R9x59 9 x 59 26 R15x99 15 x 99
8 R9x77 9 x 77 27 R15x139 15 x 139
9 R9x99 9 x 99 28 R17x43 17 x 43
10 R9x139 9 x 139 29 R17x59 17 x 59
11 R11x27 11 x 27 30 R17x77 17 x 77
12 R11x43 11 x 43 31 R17x99 17 x 99
13 R11x59 11 x 59 32 R17x139 17 x 139
14 R11x77 11 x 77 33 R7xW 7 x automatic width
For barcode readers that support it, non-ASCII data density may be maximized by using the --fullmultibyte
switch or in the API by setting option_3 = ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE.
6.6.6 UPNQR (Univerzalnega Plačilnega Naloga QR)
Figure 105: zint -b UPNQR -i upn_utf8.txt --quietzones
A variation of QR Code used by Združenje Bank Slovenije (Bank Association of Slovenia). The size, error
correction level and ECI are set by Zint and do not need to be specified. UPNQR is unusual in that it uses
71
Latin-2 (ISO/IEC 8859-2 plus ASCII) formatted data. Zint will accept UTF-8 data and convert it to Latin-2, or
if your data is already Latin-2 formatted use the --binary switch (API input_mode = DATA MODE).
The following example creates a symbol from data saved as a Latin-2 file:
zint -o upnqr.png -b 143 --scale=3 --binary -i upn.txt
A mask may be manually specified or the --fast option used as with QRCODE.
6.6.7 MaxiCode (ISO 16023)
Figure 106: zint -b MAXICODE -d "1Z00004951\GUPSN\G06X610\G159\G1234567\G1/1\G\GY\G1 MAIN

ST\GNY\GNY\R\E" --esc --primary="152382802000000" --scmvv=96
Developed by UPS the MaxiCode symbology employs a grid of hexagons surrounding a bulls-eye finder pat-
tern. This symbology is designed for the identification of parcels. MaxiCode symbols can be encoded in one of
five modes. In modes 2 and 3 MaxiCode symbols are composed of two parts named the primary and secondary
messages. The primary message consists of a Structured Carrier Message which includes various data about
the package being sent and the secondary message usually consists of address data in a data structure. The
format of the primary message required by Zint is given in the following table.
Table : MaxiCode Structured Carrier Message Format
Characters Meaning
1-9 Postcode data which can consist of up to 9 digits (for mode 2) or
up to 6 alphanumeric characters (for mode 3). Remaining unused
characters for mode 3 can be filled with the SPACE character
(ASCII 32) or omitted.
(adjust the following character positions according to postcode
length)
10 - 12 Three-digit country code according to ISO 3166-1.
13 - 15 Three-digit service code. This depends on your parcel courier.
The primary message can be set at the command prompt using the --primary switch (API primary). The
secondary message uses the normal data entry method. For example:
zint -o test.eps -b 57 --primary="999999999840012" \
-d "Secondary Message Here"
When using the API the primary message must be placed in the primary string. The secondary is entered in
the same way as described in 5.2 Encoding and Saving to File. When either of these modes is selected Zint will
analyse the primary message and select either mode 2 or mode 3 as appropriate.
As a convenience the secondary message for modes 2 and 3 can be set to be prefixed by the ISO/IEC 15434
Format "01" (transportation) sequence "[)>\R01\Gvv", where vv is a 2-digit version, by using the --scmvv
switch (API option_2 = vv + 1). For example to use the common version "96" (ASC MH10/SC 8):
zint -b 57 --primary="152382802840001" --scmvv=96 --esc -d \
"1Z00004951\GUPSN\G06X610\G159\G1234567\G1/1\G\GY\G1 MAIN ST\GNY\GNY\R\E"
will prefix "[)>\R01\G96" to the secondary message. (\R, \G and \E are the escape sequences for Record
Separator, Group Separator and End of Transmission respectively - see Table : Escape Sequences.)
Modes 4 to 6 can be accessed using the --mode switch (API option_1). Modes 4 to 6 do not have a primary
message. For example:
zint -o test.eps -b 57 --mode=4 -d "A MaxiCode Message in Mode 4"
72
Mode 6 is reserved for the maintenance of scanner hardware and should not be used to encode user data.
This symbology uses Latin-1 character encoding by default but also supports the ECI encoding mechanism.
The maximum length of text which can be placed in a MaxiCode symbol depends on the type of characters
used in the text.
Example maximum data lengths are given in the table below:
Table : MaxiCode Data Length Maxima
Maximum Data Length for Maximum Data Length for Number of Error Correction
Mode Capital Letters Numeric Digits Codewords
2* 84 126 50
3* 84 126 50
4 93 138 50
5 77 113 66
6 93 138 50
* - secondary only
MaxiCode supports Structured Append of up to 8 symbols, which can be set by using the --structapp option
(see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). It does not support specifying an ID.
MaxiCode uses a different scaling than other symbols for raster output, see 4.9.3 MaxiCode Raster Scaling, and
also for EMF vector output, when the scale is multiplied by 20 instead of 2.
6.6.8 Aztec Code (ISO 24778)
Figure 107: zint -b AZTEC -d "123456789012"
Invented by Andrew Longacre at Welch Allyn Inc in 1995 the Aztec Code symbol is a matrix symbol with a
distinctive bulls-eye finder pattern. Zint can generate Compact Aztec Code (sometimes called Small Aztec
Code) as well as ‘full-range’ Aztec Code symbols and by default will automatically select symbol type and size
dependent on the length of the data to be encoded. Error correction codewords will normally be generated to
fill at least 23% of the symbol. Two options are available to change this behaviour:
The size of the symbol can be specified using the --vers option (API option_2) to a value between 1 and 36
according to the following table. The symbols marked with an asterisk (*) in the table below are ‘compact’
symbols, meaning they have a smaller bulls-eye pattern at the centre of the symbol.
Table : Aztec Code Sizes

1 15 x 15* 13 53 x 53 25 105 x 105
2 19 x 19* 14 57 x 57 26 109 x 109
3 23 x 23* 15 61 x 61 27 113 x 113
4 27 x 27* 16 67 x 67 28 117 x 117
5 19 x 19 17 71 x 71 29 121 x 121
6 23 x 23 18 75 x 75 30 125 x 125
7 27 x 27 19 79 x 79 31 131 x 131
8 31 x 31 20 83 x 83 32 135 x 135
9 37 x 37 21 87 x 87 33 139 x 139
10 41 x 41 22 91 x 91 34 143 x 143
11 45 x 45 23 95 x 95 35 147 x 147
12 49 x 49 24 101 x 101 36 151 x 151
73
Note that in symbols which have a specified size the amount of error correction is dependent on the length of
the data input and Zint will allow error correction capacities as low as 3 codewords.
Alternatively the amount of error correction data can be specified by setting the --secure option (API op-
tion_1) to a value from the following table.
Table : Aztec Code Error Correction Modes
Mode Error Correction Capacity

1 >10% + 3 codewords
It is not possible to select both symbol size and error correction capacity for the same symbol. If both options
are selected then the error correction capacity selection will be ignored.
Aztec Code supports ECI encoding and can encode up to a maximum length of approximately 3823 numeric
or 3067 alphabetic characters or 1914 bytes of data. A separate symbology ID (BARCODE_HIBC_AZTEC) can be
used to encode Health Industry Barcode (HIBC) data.
Aztec Code supports Structured Append of up to 26 symbols and an optional alphanumeric ID of up to 32
characters, which can be set by using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp).
The ID cannot contain spaces. If an ID is not given, no ID is encoded.
6.6.9 Aztec Runes (ISO 24778)
Figure 108: zint -b AZRUNE -d "125"
A truncated version of compact Aztec Code for encoding whole integers between 0 and 255, as defined in
ISO/IEC 24778 Annex A. Includes Reed-Solomon error correction. It does not support Structured Append.
6.6.10 Code One
Figure 109: zint -b CODEONE -d "1234567890123456789012"
A matrix symbology developed by Ted Williams in 1992 which encodes data in a way similar to Data Matrix,
Code One is able to encode the Latin-1 character set or GS1 data, and also supports the ECI mechanism. There
are two types of Code One symbol - fixed-ratio symbols which are roughly square (versions A through to H)
and variable-width versions (versions S and T). These can be selected by using --vers (API option_2) as
shown in the table below:
Table : Code One Sizes
Numeric Data Alphanumeric Data

Input Version Size (W x H) Capacity Capacity
1 A 16 x 18 22 13
2 B 22 x 22 44 27
3 C 28 x 28 104 64
4 D 40 x 42 217 135
5 E 52 x 54 435 271
6 F 70 x 76 886 553
74
Numeric Data Alphanumeric Data
Input Version Size (W x H) Capacity Capacity
7 G 104 x 98 1755 1096
8 H 148 x 134 3550 2218
9 S width x 8 18 N/A
10 T width x 16 90 55
Version S symbols can only encode numeric data. The width of version S and version T symbols is determined
by the length of the input data.
Code One supports Structured Append of up to 128 symbols, which can be set by using the --structapp option
(see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). It does not support specifying an ID. Structured Append is
not supported with GS1 data nor for Version S symbols.
6.6.11 Grid Matrix
Figure 110: zint -b GRIDMATRIX --eci=29 -d "AAT2556 电池充电器 + 降压转换器 200mA 至 2A tel:86
019 82512738"
Grid Matrix groups modules in a chequerboard pattern, and by default supports the GB 2312 standard set,
which includes Hanzi, ASCII and a small number of ISO/IEC 8859-1 characters. Input should be entered as
UTF-8 with conversion to GB 2312 being carried out automatically by Zint. The symbology also supports the
ECI mechanism. Support for GS1 data has not yet been implemented.
The size of the symbol and the error correction capacity can be specified. If you specify both of these values
then Zint will make a ‘best-fit’ attempt to satisfy both conditions. The symbol size can be specified using the
--vers option (API option_2), and the error correction capacity can be specified by using the --secure option
(API option_1), according to the following tables.
Table : Grid Matrix Sizes
Input Symbol Size Input Symbol Size

1 18 x 18 8 102 x 102
2 30 x 30 9 114 x 114
3 42 x 42 10 126 x 126
4 54 x 54 11 138 x 138
5 66 x 66 12 150 x 150
6 78 x 78 13 162 x 162
7 90 x 90
Table : Grid Matrix Error Correction Modes

1 Approximately 10%
2 Approximately 20%
3 Approximately 30%
4 Approximately 40%
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5 Approximately 50%
Grid Matrix supports Structured Append of up to 16 symbols and a numeric ID (file signature), which can be
set by using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). The ID ranges from 0
(default) to 255.
6.6.12 DotCode
Figure 111: zint -b DOTCODE -d "[01]00012345678905[17]201231[10]ABC123456" --gs1
DotCode uses a grid of dots in a rectangular formation to encode characters up to a maximum of approximately
450 characters (or 900 numeric digits). The symbology supports ECI encoding and GS1 data encoding. By
default Zint will produce a symbol which is approximately square, however the width of the symbol can be
adjusted by using the --cols option (API option_2) (maximum 200). Outputting DotCode to raster images
(BMP, GIF, PCX, PNG, TIF) will require setting the scale of the image to a larger value than the default (e.g.
approximately 10) for the dots to be plotted correctly. Approximately 33% of the resulting symbol is comprised
of error correction codewords.
DotCode has two sets of 4 masks, designated 0-3 and 0’-3’, the second "prime" set being the same as the first
with corners lit. The best mask to use is selected automatically by Zint but may be manually specified by using
the --mask switch with values 0-7, where 4-7 denote 0’-3’, or in the API by setting option_3 = (N + 1) <<
8 where N is 0-7.
DotCode supports Structured Append of up to 35 symbols, which can be set by using the --structapp option
(see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). It does not support specifying an ID.
6.6.13 Han Xin Code (ISO 20830)
Figure 112: zint -b HANXIN -d "Hanxin Code symbol"
Also known as Chinese Sensible Code, Han Xin is capable of encoding characters in either the Latin-1 character
set or the GB 18030 character set (which is a UTF, i.e. includes all Unicode characters, optimized for Chinese
characters) and is also able to support the ECI mechanism. Support for the encoding of GS1 data has not yet
been implemented.
The size of the symbol can be specified using the --vers option (API option_2) to a value between 1 and 84
according to the following table.
Table : Han Xin Sizes

1 23 x 23 29 79 x 79 57 135 x 135
2 25 x 25 30 81 x 81 58 137 x 137
3 27 x 27 31 83 x 83 59 139 x 139
4 29 x 29 32 85 x 85 60 141 x 141
5 31 x 31 33 87 x 87 61 143 x 143
76
6 33 x 33 34 89 x 89 62 145 x 145
7 35 x 35 35 91 x 91 63 147 x 147
8 37 x 37 36 93 x 93 64 149 x 149
9 39 x 39 37 95 x 95 65 151 x 151
10 41 x 41 38 97 x 97 66 153 x 153
11 43 x 43 39 99 x 99 67 155 x 155
12 45 x 45 40 101 x 101 68 157 x 157
13 47 x 47 41 103 x 103 69 159 x 159
14 49 x 49 42 105 x 105 70 161 x 161
15 51 x 51 43 107 x 107 71 163 x 163
16 53 x 53 44 109 x 109 72 165 x 165
17 55 x 55 45 111 x 111 73 167 x 167
18 57 x 57 46 113 x 113 74 169 x 169
19 59 x 59 47 115 x 115 75 171 x 171
20 61 x 61 48 117 x 117 76 173 x 173
21 63 x 63 49 119 x 119 77 175 x 175
22 65 x 65 50 121 x 121 78 177 x 177
23 67 x 67 51 123 x 123 79 179 x 179
24 69 x 69 52 125 x 125 80 181 x 181
25 71 x 71 53 127 x 127 81 183 x 183
26 73 x 73 54 129 x 129 82 185 x 185
27 75 x 75 55 131 x 131 83 187 x 187
28 77 x 77 56 133 x 133 84 189 x 189
There are four levels of error correction capacity available for Han Xin Code which can be set by using the
--secure option (API option_1) to a value from the following table.
Table : Han Xin Error Correction Modes
Mode Recovery Capacity

1 Approx 8%
2 Approx 15%
3 Approx 23%
4 Approx 30%
Han Xin has four different masks designed to minimize unwanted patterns. The best mask to use is selected
automatically by Zint but may be manually specified by using the --mask switch with values 0-3, or in the API
by setting option_3 = (N + 1) << 8 where N is 0-3. To use with ZINT_FULL_MULTIBYTE set
6.6.14 Ultracode
Figure 113: zint -b ULTRA -d "HEIMASÍÐA KENNARAHÁSKÓLA ÍSLANDS"
This symbology uses a grid of coloured elements to encode data. ECI and GS1 modes are supported. The
amount of error correction can be set using the --secure option (API option_1) to a value as shown in the
following table.
77
Table : Ultracode Error Correction Values
Value EC Level Amount of symbol holding error correction data

1 EC0 0% - Error detection only
2 EC1 Approx 5%
3 EC2 Approx 9% - Default value
4 EC3 Approx 17%
5 EC4 Approx 25%
6 EC5 Approx 33%
Zint does not currently implement data compression by default, but this can be initiated through the API by
setting
symbol->option_3 = ULTRA_COMPRESSION;
WARNING: Ultracode data compression is experimental and should not be used in a production environment.
Revision 2 of Ultracode (2021) which swops and inverts the DCCU and DCCL tiles may be specified using
--vers=2 (API option_2 = 2).
Ultracode supports Structured Append of up to 8 symbols and an optional numeric ID (File Number), which
can be set by using the --structapp option (see 4.16 Structured Append) (API structapp). The ID ranges
from 1 to 80088. If an ID is not given, no ID is encoded.
78
6.7 Other Barcode-Like Markings
6.7.1 Facing Identification Mark (FIM)
Figure 114: zint -b FIM --compliantheight -d "C"
Used by the United States Postal Service (USPS), the FIM symbology is used to assist automated mail process-
ing. There are only 5 valid symbols which can be generated using the characters A-E as shown in the table
below.
Table : Valid FIM Characters
Code Letter Usage

A Used for courtesy reply mail and metered reply mail with a
pre-printed POSTNET symbol.
B Used for business reply mail without a pre-printed zip code.
C Used for business reply mail with a pre-printed zip code.
D Used for Information Based Indicia (IBI) postage.
E Used for customized mail with a USPS Intelligent Mail barcode.
6.7.2 Flattermarken
Figure 115: zint -b FLAT -d "1304056"
Used for the recognition of page sequences in print-shops, the Flattermarken is not a true barcode symbol and
requires precise knowledge of the position of the mark on the page. The Flattermarken system can encode
numeric data up to a maximum of 90 digits and does not include a check digit.
79
7. Legal and Version Information
7.1 License
Zint, libzint and Zint Barcode Studio are Copyright © 2022 Robin Stuart. All historical versions are distributed
under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later. Versions 2.5 and later are released under a dual license:
the encoding library is released under the BSD (3 clause) license whereas the GUI, Zint Barcode Studio, and
the CLI are released under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later.
Telepen is a trademark of SB Electronic Systems Ltd.
QR Code is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.
Mailmark is a registered trademark of Royal Mail Group Ltd.
Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Cor-
poration in the United States and/or other countries.
Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.
Mac and macOS are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
The Zint logo is derived from “SF Planetary Orbiter” font by ShyFoundary.
Zint.org.uk website design and hosting provided by Robert Elliott.
7.2 Patent Issues

All of the code in Zint is developed using information in the public domain, usually freely available on the
Internet. Some of the techniques used may be subject to patents and other intellectual property legislation. It is
my belief that any patents involved in the technology underlying symbologies utilised by Zint are ‘unadopted’,
that is the holder does not object to their methods being used.
Any methods patented or owned by third parties or trademarks or registered trademarks used within Zint or
in this document are and remain the property of their respective owners and do not indicate endorsement or
affiliation with those owners, companies or organisations.
7.3 Version Information

The current stable version of Zint is 2.12.0, released on 12th December 2022.
See "ChangeLog" in the project root directory for information on all releases.
7.4 Sources of Information

Below is a list of some of the sources used in rough chronological order:
• Nick Johnson’s Barcode Specifications
• Bar Code 1 Specification Source Page
• SB Electronic Systems Telepen website
• Pharmacode specifications from Laetus
• Morovia RM4SCC specification
• Australia Post’s ‘A Guide to Printing the 4-State Barcode’ and bcsample source code
• Plessey algorithm from GNU-Barcode v0.98 by Leonid A. Broukhis
• GS1 General Specifications v 8.0 Issue 2
• PNG: The Definitive Guide and wpng source code by Greg Reolofs
• PDF417 specification and pdf417 source code by Grand Zebu
• Barcode Reference, TBarCode/X User Documentation and TBarCode/X demonstration program from
Tec-It
• IEC16022 source code by Stefan Schmidt et al
• United States Postal Service Specification USPS-B-3200
• Adobe Systems Incorporated Encapsulated PostScript File Format Specification
• BSI Online Library
• Libdmtx Data Matrix ECC200 decoding library
80
7.5 Standards Compliance
Zint was developed to provide compliance with the following British and international standards:
7.5.1 Symbology Standards

• ISO/IEC 24778:2008 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques -
Aztec Code bar code symbology specification
• SEMI T1-95 Specification for Back Surface Bar Code Marking of Silicon Wafers (BC412) (1996)
• ANSI/AIM BC12-1998 - Uniform Symbology Specification Channel Code
• BS EN 798:1996 Bar coding - Symbology specifications - ‘Codabar’
• AIM Europe ISS-X-24 - Uniform Symbology Specification Codablock-F (1995)
Code 128 bar code symbology specification
• BS EN 12323:2005 AIDC technologies - Symbology specifications - Code 16K
Code 39 bar code symbology specification
• ANSI/AIM BC6-2000 - Uniform Symbology Specification Code 49
• ANSI/AIM BC5-1995 - Uniform Symbology Specification Code 93
• AIM Uniform Symbology Specification Code One (1994)
• ISO/IEC 16022:2006 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Data
Matrix ECC200 bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 21471:2020 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Ex-
tended rectangular data matrix (DMRE) bar code symbology specification
• AIM TSC1705001 (v 4.0 Draft 0.15) - Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture
techniques - Bar code symbology specification - DotCode (Revised 28th May 2019)
EAN/UPC bar code symbology specification
• AIMD014 (v 1.63) - Information technology, Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Bar
code symbology specification - Grid Matrix (Released 9th Dec 2008)
• ISO/IEC 24723:2010 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - GS1
Composite bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 24724:2011 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - GS1
DataBar bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 20830:2021 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Han
Xin Code bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 16390:2007 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - In-
terleaved 2 of 5 bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 16023:2000 Information technology - International symbology specification - MaxiCode
• ISO/IEC 24728:2006 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Mi-
croPDF417 bar code symbology specification
PDF417 bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 18004:2015 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - QR
Code bar code symbology specification
• ISO/IEC 23941:2022 Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Rect-
angular Micro QR Code (rMQR) bar code symbology specification
• AIMD/TSC15032-43 (v 0.99c) - International Technical Specification - Ultracode Symbology (Draft) (Re-
leased 4th Nov 2015)
A number of other specification documents have also been referenced, such as MIL-STD-1189 Rev. B (1989)
(LOGMARS), USPS DMM 300 2006 (2011) (POSTNET, PLANET, FIM) and USPS-B-3200 (2015) (IMAIL).
Those not named include postal and delivery company references in particular.
7.5.2 General Standards

• AIM ITS/04-001 International Technical Standard - Extended Channel Interpretations Part 1: Identifica-
tion Schemes and Protocol (Released 24th May 2004)
• AIM ITS/04-023 International Technical Standard - Extended Channel Interpretations Part 3: Register
(Version 2, February 2022)
• GS1 General Specifications Release 22.0 (Jan 2022)
• ANSI/HIBC 2.6-2016 - The Health Industry Bar Code (HIBC) Supplier Labeling Standard
81
Annex A. Character Encoding
This section is intended as a quick reference to the character sets used by Zint. All symbologies use standard
ASCII input as shown in section A.1, but some support extended characters as shown in the subsequent section
A.2 Latin Alphabet No. 1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1).
A.1 ASCII Standard

The ubiquitous ASCII standard is well known to most computer users. It’s reproduced here for reference.
Table : ASCII
Hex 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
0 NUL DLE SPACE 0 @ P ` p
1 SOH DC1 ! 1 A Q a q
2 STX DC2 " 2 B R b r
3 ETX DC3 # 3 C S c s
4 EOT DC4 $ 4 D T d t
5 ENQ NAK % 5 E U e u
6 ACK SYN & 6 F V f v
7 BEL ETB ' 7 G W g w
8 BS CAN ( 8 H X h x
9 TAB EM ) 9 I Y i y
A LF SUB * : J Z j z
B VT ESC + ; K [ k {
C FF FS , < L \ l |
D CR GS - = M ] m }
E SO RS . > N ^ n ~
F SI US / ? O _ o DEL
A.2 Latin Alphabet No. 1 (ISO/IEC 8859-1)

ISO/IEC 8859-1 defines additional characters common in western European languages like French, German,
Italian and Spanish. This extension is the default encoding of many barcodes (see Table : Default Character
Sets) when a codepoint above hex 9F is encoded. Note that codepoints hex 80 to 9F are not defined.
Table : ISO/IEC 8859-1
Hex 8 9 A B C D E F
0 NBSP ° À Ð à ð
1 ¡ ± Á Ñ á ñ
2 ¢ ² Â Ò â ò
3 £ ³ Ã Ó ã ó
4 ¤ ´ Ä Ô ä ô
5 ¥ μ Å Õ å õ
6 ¦ ¶ Æ Ö æ ö
7 § · Ç × ç ÷
8 ¨ ¸ È Ø è ø
9 © ¹ É Ù é ù
A ª º Ê Ú ê ú
B « » Ë Û ë û
C ¬ ¼ Ì Ü ì ü
D SHY ½ Í Ý í ý
E ® ¾ Î Þ î þ
F ¯ ¿ Ï ß ï ÿ
82
Annex B. Man Page ZINT(1)
NAME
zint - encode data as a barcode image
SYNOPSIS
zint [-h | --help]
zint [options]
DESCRIPTION
zint takes input data from the command line or a file to encode in a barcode which is then output to an image
file.
Input data is UTF-8, unless --binary is specified.
Human Readable Text (HRT) is displayed by default for those barcodes that support HRT, unless --notext is
specified.
The output image file (specified with -o | --output) may be in one of these formats: Windows Bitmap (BMP),
Enhanced Metafile Format (EMF), Encapsulated PostScript (EPS), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), ZSoft
Paintbrush (PCX), Portable Network Format (PNG), Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG), or Tagged Image File Format
(TIF).
OPTIONS
-h, --help
Print usage information summarizing command line options.

-b TYPE, --barcode=TYPE
Set the barcode symbology that will be used to encode the data. TYPE is the number or name of the
barcode symbology. If not given, the symbology defaults to 20 (Code 128). To see what types are available,
use the -t | --types option. Type names are case-insensitive, and non-alphanumerics are ignored.
--addongap=INTEGER
For EAN/UPC symbologies, set the gap between the main data and the add-on. INTEGER is in integral
multiples of the X-dimension. The maximum gap that can be set is 12. The minimum is 7, except for
UPC-A, when the minimum is 9.
--batch
Treat each line of an input file specified with -i | --input as a separate data set and produce a barcode
image for each one. The barcode images are outputted by default to numbered filenames starting with
“00001.png”, “00002.png” etc., which can be changed by using the -o | --output option.
--bg=COLOUR
Specify a background (paper) colour where COLOUR is in hex RRGGBB or RRGGBBAA format.
--binary
Treat input data as raw 8-bit binary data instead of the default UTF-8. Automatic code page translation
to an ECI page is disabled, and no validation of the data’s character encoding takes place.
--bind
Add horizontal boundary bars (also known as bearer bars) to the symbol. The width of the boundary
bars is specified by the --border option. --bind can also be used to add row separator bars to symbols
stacked with multiple -d | --data inputs, in which case the width of the separator bars is specified with
the --separator option.
--bindtop
Add a horizontal boundary bar to the top of the symbol. The width of the boundary bar is specified by
the --border option.
83
--bold
Use bold text for the Human Readable Text (HRT).

--border=INTEGER
Set the width of boundary bars (--bind or --bindtop) or box borders (--box), where INTEGER is in
integral multiples of the X-dimension. The default is zero.
--box
Add a box around the symbol. The width of the borders is specified by the --border option.
--cmyk
Use the CMYK colour space when outputting to Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) or TIF files.
--cols=INTEGER
Set the number of data columns in the symbol to INTEGER. Affects Codablock-F, DotCode, GS1 DataBar
Expanded Stacked (DBAR_EXPSTK), MicroPDF417 and PDF417 symbols.
--compliantheight
Warn if the height specified by the --height option is not compliant with the barcode’s specification, or
if --height is not given, default to the height specified by the specification (if any).
-d, --data=DATA
Specify the input DATA to encode. The --esc option may be used to enter non-printing characters using
escape sequences. The DATA should be UTF-8, unless the --binary option is given, in which case it can
be anything.
--direct
Send output to stdout, which in most cases should be re-directed to a pipe or a file. Use --filetype to
specify output format.
--dmre
For Data Matrix symbols, allow Data Matrix Rectangular Extended (DMRE) sizes when considering au-
tomatic sizes.
--dotsize=NUMBER
Set the radius of the dots in dotty mode (--dotty). NUMBER is in multiples of the X-dimension, and
may be floating-point. The default is 0.8.
--dotty
Use dots instead of squares for matrix symbols. DotCode is always in dotty mode.
--dump
Dump a hexadecimal representation of the symbol’s encodation to stdout. The same representation may
be outputted to a file by using a .txt extension with -o | --output or by specifying --filetype=txt.
-e, --ecinos
Display the table of ECIs (Extended Channel Interpretations).

--eci=INTEGER
Set the ECI code for the input data to INTEGER. See -e | --ecinos for a list of the ECIs available. ECIs
are supported by Aztec Code, Code One, Data Matrix, DotCode, Grid Matrix, Han Xin Code, MaxiCode,
MicroPDF417, PDF417, QR Code, rMQR and Ultracode.
--esc
Process escape characters in the input data. The escape sequences are:
\0 (0x00) NUL Null character
\E (0x04) EOT End of Transmission
\a (0x07) BEL Bell
\b (0x08) BS Backspace
\t (0x09) HT Horizontal Tab
84
\n (0x0A) LF Line Feed
\v (0x0B) VT Vertical Tab
\f (0x0C) FF Form Feed
\r (0x0D) CR Carriage Return
\e (0x1B) ESC Escape
\G (0x1D) GS Group Separator
\R (0x1E) RS Record Separator
\\ (0x5C) \ Backslash
\dNNN (NNN) Any 8-bit character where NNN is
decimal (000-255)
\xNN (0xNN) Any 8-bit character where NN is
hexadecimal
\uNNNN (U+NNNN) Any 16-bit Unicode BMP character
where NNNN is hexadecimal
\UNNNNNN (U+NNNNNN) Any 21-bit Unicode character
where NNNNNN is hexadecimal
--fast
Use faster if less optimal encodation or other shortcuts (affects Data Matrix, MicroPDF417, PDF417, QR-
CODE & UPNQR only).
--fg=COLOUR
Specify a foreground (ink) colour where COLOUR is in hex RRGGBB or RRGGBBAA format.
--filetype=TYPE
Set the output file type to TYPE, which is one of BMP, EMF, EPS, GIF, PCX, PNG, SVG, TIF, TXT.
--fullmultibyte
Use the multibyte modes of Grid Matrix, Han Xin and QR Code for non-ASCII data.
--gs1
Treat input as GS1 compatible data. Application Identifiers (AIs) should be placed in square brackets
"[]" (but see --gs1parens).
--gs1nocheck
Do not check the validity of GS1 data.

--gs1parens
Process parentheses "()" as GS1 AI delimiters, rather than square brackets "[]". The input data must
not otherwise contain parentheses.
--gssep
For Data Matrix in GS1 mode, use GS (0x1D) as the GS1 data separator instead of FNC1.
--guarddescent=NUMBER
For EAN/UPC symbols, set the height the guard bars descend below the main bars, where NUMBER is
in multiples of the X-dimension. NUMBER may be floating-point.
--height=NUMBER
Set the height of the symbol in multiples of the X-dimension. NUMBER may be floating-point.
--heightperrow
Treat height as per-row. Affects Codablock-F, Code 16K, Code 49, GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
(DBAR_EXPSTK), MicroPDF417 and PDF417.
-i, --input=FILE
Read the input data from FILE.

--init
Create a Reader Initialisation (Programming) symbol.
85
--mask=INTEGER
Set the masking pattern to use for DotCode, Han Xin or QR Code to INTEGER, overriding the automatic
selection.
--mirror
Use the batch data to determine the filename in batch mode (--batch). The -o | --output option can be
used to specify an output directory (any filename will be ignored).
--mode=INTEGER
For MaxiCode and GS1 Composite symbols, set the encoding mode to INTEGER.
For MaxiCode (SCM is Structured Carrier Message, with 3 fields: postcode, 3-digit ISO 3166-1 country
code, 3-digit service code):
2 SCM with 9-digit numeric postcode
3 SCM with 6-character alphanumeric postcode
4 Enhanced ECC for the primary part of the message
5 Enhanced ECC for all of the message
6 Reader Initialisation (Programming)
For GS1 Composite symbols (names end in _CC, i.e. EANX_CC, GS1_128_CC, DBAR_OMN_CC etc.):
1 CC-A
2 CC-B
3 CC-C (GS1_128_CC only)
--nobackground
Remove the background colour (EMF, EPS, GIF, PNG, SVG and TIF only).
--noquietzones
Disable any quiet zones for symbols that define them by default.
--notext
Remove the Human Readable Text (HRT).

-o, --output=FILE
Send the output to FILE. When not in batch mode, the default is “out.png” (or “out.gif” if zint built
without PNG support). When in batch mode (--batch), special characters can be used to format the
output filenames:
~ Insert a number or 0
# Insert a number or space
@ Insert a number or * (+ on Windows)
Any other Insert literally
--primary=STRING
For MaxiCode, set the content of the primary message. For GS1 Composite symbols, set the content of
the linear symbol.
--quietzones
Add compliant quiet zones for symbols that specify them. This is in addition to any whitespace specified
by -w | --whitesp or --vwhitesp.
-r, --reverse
Reverse the foreground and background colours (white on black). Known as “reflectance reversal” or
“reversed reflectance”.
--rotate=INTEGER
Rotate the symbol by INTEGER degrees, where INTEGER can be 0, 90, 270 or 360.
--rows=INTEGER
86
Set the number of rows for Codablock-F or PDF417 to INTEGER. It will also set the minimum number of
rows for Code 16K or Code 49, and the maximum number of rows for GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked
(DBAR_EXPSTK).
--scale=NUMBER
Adjust the size of the X-dimension. NUMBER may be floating-point, and is multiplied by 2 (except for
MaxiCode) before being applied. The default scale is 1.
For MaxiCode, the scale is multiplied by 10 for raster output, by 40 for EMF output, and by 2 otherwise.
Increments of 0.5 (half-integers) are recommended for non-MaxiCode raster output (BMP, GIF, PCX, PNG
and TIF).
See also --scalexdimdp below.
--scalexdimdp=X[,R]
Scale the image according to X-dimension X and resolution R, where X is in mm and R is in dpmm (dots
per mm). X and R may be floating-point. R is optional and defaults to 12 dpmm (approximately 300 dpi).
The scaling takes into account the output filetype, and deals with all the details mentioned above. Units
may be specified for X by appending “in” (inch) or “mm”, and for R by appending “dpi” (dots per inch)
or “dpmm” - e.g. --scalexdimdp=0.013in,300dpi.
--scmvv=INTEGER
For MaxiCode, prefix the Structured Carrier Message (SCM) with "[)>\R01\Gvv", where vv is a 2-digit
INTEGER.
--secure=INTEGER
Set the error correction level (ECC) to INTEGER. The meaning is specific to the following matrix symbols
(all except PDF417 are approximate):
Aztec Code 1 to 4 (10%, 23%, 36%, 50%)
Grid Matrix 1 to 5 (10% to 50%)
Han Xin 1 to 4 (8%, 15%, 23%, 30%)
Micro QR 1 to 3 (7%, 15%, 25%) (L, M, Q)
PDF417 0 to 8 (2^(INTEGER + 1) codewords)
QR Code 1 to 4 (7%, 15%, 25%, 30%) (L, M, Q, H)
rMQR 2 or 4 (15% or 30%) (M or H)
Ultracode 1 to 6 (0%, 5%, 9%, 17%, 25%, 33%)
--segN=ECI,DATA
Set the ECI & DATA content for segment N, where N is 1 to 9. -d | --data must still be given, and counts
as segment 0, its ECI given by --eci. Segments must be consecutive.
--separator=INTEGER
Set the height of row separator bars for stacked symbologies, where INTEGER is in integral multiples of
the X-dimension. The default is zero.
--small
Use small text for Human Readable Text (HRT).

--square
For Data Matrix symbols, exclude rectangular sizes when considering automatic sizes.
--structapp=I,C[,ID]
Set Structured Append info, where I is the 1-based index, C is the total number of symbols in the sequence,
and ID, which is optional, is the identifier that all symbols in the sequence share. Structured Append
is supported by Aztec Code, Code One, Data Matrix, DotCode, Grid Matrix, MaxiCode, MicroPDF417,
PDF417, QR Code and Ultracode.
-t, --types
Display the table of barcode types (symbologies). The numbers or names can be used with -b | --barcode.
87
--vers=INTEGER
Set the symbol version (size, check digits, other options) to INTEGER. The meaning is symbol-specific.
For most matrix symbols, it specifies size:
Aztec Code 1 to 36 (1 to 4 compact)
Code One 1 to 10
Data Matrix 1 to 48 (31 to 48 DMRE)
Grid Matrix 1 to 13
Han Xin 1 to 84
Micro QR 1 to 4 (M1, M2, M3, M4)
QR Code 1 to 40
rMQR 1 to 38 (33 to 38 automatic width)
For a number of linear symbols, it specifies check character options (“hide” or “hidden” means don’t
show in HRT, “visible” means do display in HRT):
C25IATA 1 or 2 (add visible or hidden check digit)
C25IND ditto
C25INTER ditto
C25LOGIC ditto
C25STANDARD ditto
Codabar 1 or 2 (add hidden or visible check digit)
Code 11 0 or 1 (no or 1 visible check digit only)
(default is 2 visible check digits)
Code 39 1 (add visible check digit)
Code 93 1 (hide the default check characters)
EXCODE39 1 (add visible check digit)
LOGMARS 1 (add visible check digit)
MSI Plessey 0 to 6 (none to various visible options)
1, 2 (mod-10, mod-10 + mod-10)
3, 4 (mod-11 IBM, mod-11 IBM + mod-10)
5, 6 (mod-11 NCR, mod-11 NCR + mod-10)
+10 (hide)
For a few other symbologies, it specifies other characteristics:

Channel Code 3 to 8 (no. of channels)
DAFT 50 to 900 (permille tracker ratio)
DPD 1 (relabel)
PZN 1 (PZN7 instead of default PZN8)
Ultracode 2 (revision 2)
VIN 1 (add international prefix)
-v, --version
Display zint version.

--vwhitesp=INTEGER
Set the height of vertical whitespace above and below the barcode, where INTEGER is in integral multiples
of the X-dimension.
-w, --whitesp=INTEGER
Set the width of horizontal whitespace either side of the barcode, where INTEGER is in integral multiples
of the X-dimension.
--werror
Convert all warnings into errors.
EXIT STATUS
0
Success (including when given informational options -h | --help, -e | --ecinos, -t | --types, -v | --
version).
88
2
Invalid option given but overridden by Zint (ZINT_WARN_INVALID_OPTION)
3
Automatic ECI inserted by Zint (ZINT_WARN_USES_ECI)
4
Symbol created not compliant with standards (ZINT_WARN_NONCOMPLIANT)
5
Input data wrong length (ZINT_ERROR_TOO_LONG)
6
Input data incorrect (ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_DATA)
7
Input check digit incorrect (ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_CHECK)
8
Incorrect option given (ZINT_ERROR_INVALID_OPTION)
9
Internal error (should not happen) (ZINT_ERROR_ENCODING_PROBLEM)
10
Error opening output file (ZINT_ERROR_FILE_ACCESS)
11
Memory allocation (malloc) failure (ZINT_ERROR_MEMORY)
12
Error writing to output file (ZINT_ERROR_FILE_WRITE)
13
Error counterpart of warning if --werror given (ZINT_ERROR_USES_ECI)
14
Error counterpart of warning if --werror given (ZINT_ERROR_NONCOMPLIANT)
EXAMPLES
Create “out.png” (or “out.gif” if zint built without PNG support) in the current directory, as a Code 128 symbol.
zint -d 'This Text'
Create “qr.svg” in the current directory, as a QR Code symbol.

zint -b QRCode -d 'This Text' -o 'qr.svg'
Use batch mode to read from an input file “ean_nos.txt” containing 13-digit GTINs, to create a series of EAN-13
barcodes, formatting the output filenames to “ean001.gif”, “ean002.gif” etc. using the special character “~”.
zint -b EANX --batch -i 'ean_nos.txt' -o 'ean~~~.gif'
BUGS
Please send bug reports to https://sourceforge.net/p/zint/tickets/.
SEE ALSO
Full documention for zint (and the API libzint and the GUI zint-qt) is available from
https://zint.org.uk/manual/
and at
https://sourceforge.net/p/zint/docs/manual.txt
CONFORMING TO
Zint is designed to be compliant with a number of international standards, including:
ISO/IEC 24778:2008, ANSI/AIM BC12-1998, EN 798:1996, AIM ISS-X-24 (1995), ISO/IEC 15417:2007, EN
12323:2005, ISO/IEC 16388:2007, ANSI/AIM BC6-2000, ANSI/AIM BC5-1995, AIM USS Code One (1994),
ISO/IEC 16022:2006, ISO/IEC 21471:2019, ISO/IEC 15420:2009, AIMD014 (v 1.63) (2008), ISO/IEC 24723:2010,
ISO/IEC 24724:2011, ISO/IEC 20830:2021, ISO/IEC 16390:2007, ISO/IEC 16023:2000, ISO/IEC 24728:2006,
ISO/IEC 15438:2015, ISO/IEC 18004:2015, ISO/IEC 23941:2022, AIM ITS/04-023 (2022)
89
COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 2022 Robin Stuart. Released under GNU GPL 3.0 or later.
AUTHOR
Robin Stuart robin@zint.org.uk
90

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Zint Barcode Generator and Zint Barcode Studio User Manual

3. Using Zint Barcode Studio 10

4. Using the Command Line 18

5. Using the API 32

7. Legal and Version Information 80

Annex A. Character Encoding 82

and follow these steps in the top directory:

The CLI command line program can be accessed by typing

The GUI can be accessed by typing

2.2 Microsoft Windows

2.3 Apple macOS

To build from source see "README.macos" in the project root directory.

3.1 Main Window and Data Tab

3.2 GS1 Composite Groupbox

Figure 3: Zint Barcode Studio encoding GS1 Composite data

3.3 Additional ECI/Data Segments Groupbox

Figure 4: Zint Barcode Studio encoding multiple segments

Figure 5: Zint Barcode Studio showing Aztec Code options

Figure 6: Zint Barcode Studio showing Appearance tab options

Figure 7: Adjusting the Print Size

Figure 8: The colour picker tool

3.6 Data Dialog

Figure 9: Entering longer text input

3.7 Sequence Dialog

Figure 10: Creating a sequence of barcode symbols

Table : Sequence Format Characters

Figure 11: Setting filenames for an exported sequence of barcode symbols

3.9 CLI Equivalent Dialog

Figure 12: CLI Equivalent Dialog

4.1 Inputting Data

Table : Escape Sequences

4.2 Directing Output

4.3 Selecting Barcode Type

Table : Barcode Types (Symbologies)

4.4 Adjusting Height

Figure 13: zint -b PDF417 -d "This Text" --height=4 --heightperrow

4.5 Adjusting Whitespace

4.6 Adding Boundary Bars and Boxes

Figure 14: zint --border=10 --box -d "This Text" -w 10

Figure 15: zint -b QRCODE --border=1 --box -d "This Text" --quietzones

4.7 Using Colour

alters the symbol to a bright green.

Figure 16: zint -d "This Text" --fg=00FF00

Figure 17: zint -d "This Text" --fg=00FF0055

4.8 Rotating the Symbol

Figure 18: zint -d "This Text" --rotate=90

4.9 Adjusting Image Size

4.9.1 Scaling by X-dimension and Resolution

4.9.2 Scaling Example

4.9.3 MaxiCode Raster Scaling

4.10 Input Modes

Table : Default Character Sets

Symbology Default character sets Alternate if input not Latin-1

4.10.2 Input Modes and ECI

Table : ECI-Aware Symbologies

Aztec Code Grid Matrix PDF417

Table : ECI Codes

4.10.2.1 Input Modes and ECI Example 1

zint -b 71 --scale=10 --eci=17 -i utf8euro.txt

This is equivalent to the commands (using the --esc switch):