![Code 93 Wikipedia barcode](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/Code_93_Wikipedia_barcode.png)
Code 93 is a
barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or o ...
symbology designed in 1982 by
Intermec
Intermec is a manufacturer and supplier of automated identification and data capture equipment, including barcode scanners, barcode printers, mobile computers, RFID systems, voice recognition systems, and life cycle services.
Intermec holds pate ...
to provide a higher density and data security enhancement to
Code 39
Code 39 (also known as Alpha39, Code 3 of 9, Code 3/9, Type 39, USS Code 39, or USD-3) is a variable length, discrete barcode symbology.
The Code 39 specification defines 43 characters, consisting of uppercase letters (A through Z), numeric digi ...
. It is an alphanumeric, variable length symbology. Code 93 is used primarily by
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...
to encode supplementary delivery information. Every symbol includes two check characters.
Each Code 93 character is nine modules wide, and always has three bars and three spaces, thus the name. Each bar and space is from 1 to 4 modules wide. (For comparison, a Code 39 character consists of five bars and four spaces, three of which are wide, for a total width of 13–16 modules.)
Code 93 is designed to encode the same 26 upper case letters, 10 digits and 7 special characters as code 39:
:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
:
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
:
- . $ / + % SPACE
In addition to 43 characters, Code 93 defines 5 special characters (including a start/stop character), which can be combined with other characters to unambiguously represent all 128
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...
characters.
In an open system, the minimum value of X dimension is 7.5
mils (0.19 mm). The minimum bar height is 15 percent of the symbol length or , whichever is greater. The starting and trailing quiet zone should be at least .
Structure of a code 93 barcode
A typical code 93 barcode has the following structure:
* A start character *
* Encoded message
* First modulo-47 check character "C"
* Second modulo-47 check character "K"
* Stop Character *
* Termination bar
Detailed Outline
The 48 possible code-93 symbols are as follows. There are actually
= 56 combinations that satisfy the coding rules, but one would be confused with the stop symbol in reverse, and the other 7 are unused. Codes 43–46 can be prefixed to alphanumeric values to produce all 128 possible ASCII codes. This is done in exactly the same way as
Full ASCII Code 39, but uses reserved codes rather than re-using codes 39–42.
Full ASCII Code 93
Code 93 is restricted to 43 characters and 5 special characters. In Full
ASCII
ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...
Code 93, the 43 basic symbols (0–9, A-Z, "-", ".", "$", "/", "+" and "%") are the same as their representations in Code 93. Lower case letters, additional
punctuation
Punctuation (or sometimes interpunction) is the use of spacing, conventional signs (called punctuation marks), and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of written text, whether read silently or aloud. An ...
characters and control characters are represented by sequences of two characters of Code 93.
This encoding is the same as Full ASCII Code 39, except that four special-purpose symbols are used, rather than reassigning $, /, + and %:
References
* http://www.barcodeisland.com/code93.phtml Bar code Island's description of the code.
External links
Morovia Library Code 93 Specification This includes the checksum computation algorithm. Note that "C" is included in the computation of "K".
Code 93 Technical Specification
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