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I just downloaded ean 13 font. I'm writing a barcode in word example: 5200095632132 but when I print it, my scanner can't read it. Am I doing something wrong? In other barcode fonts I read that you need to place '*' as character start and end. Like * 5200095632132 * But in this font when i put * doesn't generate it to barcode line.

This is how my barcode looks like:

enter image description here

And this is how a barcode generator software creates the same barcode:

enter image description here

techraf
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user6927546
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  • Does your code include the [checksum in the last digit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Article_Number#Calculation_of_checksum_digit)? – Filburt Oct 13 '16 at 18:06
  • Yes i included. But it doesnt work with none barcodes. Also i saw some pictures in internet and first, mid and last line is bigger than others.Does this makes any different?I will upload an image to see. – user6927546 Oct 13 '16 at 18:07
  • *"The start marker and the end marker are encoded as 101. The center marker is encoded as 01010."* But I don't know how you put this in a font. – Filburt Oct 13 '16 at 18:33

1 Answers1

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This French guy made an excellent tutorial on how to use the bar code font: http://grandzebu.net/informatique/codbar-en/ean13.htm

(spoiler: it is more complicated than you think)

With help of this page I made a simple translation spreadsheet to make ean8 bar codes: https://www.dropbox.com/s/z7o1w0clfhtxb5i/barcodemaker%20leeg.xls?dl=0

This will give you an idea.

The general idea is that you cannot use the number itself, but a letter instead. Fo example: 0=A, 1=B, 2=C etc

Which letter also depends on the place of the number. In ean8 for example, the first 4 digits: 0=A, 1=B, 2=C etc. But the last 4 digits: 0=a, 1=b, 2=c etc.

In the case of ean13 it depends on the first digit, which translation you use for each of the first 6 digits. Grandzebu has an nice translation table for that.

If you are into VBA you can make a nice macro. But with vanilla excel formulas it is also possible. It just takes up some space.

Hans Dash
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