Print barcodes accurately and economically on almost any laser printer
The Barcode Soft Font Generator creates downloadable fonts that can be
used with Hewlett-Packard and other PCL-5 compatible laser printers. The bit-mapped fonts
created by the generator are much less costly than printer add-in modules and produce more
accurate barcodes than TrueType fonts. The font generator is ideal for use with production
applications running on Unix, Linux, Unisys, and other enterprise operating systems.
Creating a barcode font with exactly the desired characteristics takes only a moment; the
resulting font file can be stored permanently on the system and downloaded to printers as
needed. Adding barcodes to documents simply requires inserting command strings (PCL
escape sequences) into the printer data to select the barcode font. Some formatting of the
barcode data string may be required depending on the type of barcode being used. The
user has control over key barcode characteristics such as height, bar width,
wide:narrow ratio, and more. The User Manual includes detailed instructions
for using the font generator plus helpful information and sample code for
programmers.
The Barcode Soft Font Generator is a Windows 32-bit command line program
and includes a convenient graphical user interface program. The font files which it
produces can be transferred to virtually any operating system. The program is licensed for
use on one processor. The fonts are licensed for use at a single site (site
license), 10-site (corporate license), or unlimited sites (enterprise license).
Program Operation
The Barcode Soft Font Generator is a 32-bit Windows command line program and can be
executed from a command prompt with Windows/95 or higher. The program can also be executed
from a batch file, script, or from another executable program. Details about the font to
be created are specified as options on the command line.
Here is a summary of the available command line options. The only required
option is -n (name of output file); all of the others have default values:
-c type of barcode
-h height of bars
-b width of narrow bar
-n name of output font file
-f font ID number in printer
-a font name in printer
-o orientation (portrait, landscape)
-p make font permanent
-r printer resolution
-w wide:narrow bar ratio
-? display summary of options
-t height of tall Postnet bars
-s height of short Postnet bars
-i interval between Postnet bars
-y PCL symbol set
-u typeface number
Output
The program creates two output files; one (.dsf filename extension) contains the
downloadable font, and the other (.txt filename extension) contains text documentation of
the characteristics of the font. The barcode font files are
typically 3 to 4 kilobytes in size.
Barcode Symbologies Supported
• Code 39 (Code 3 of 9, LOGMARS)
• Code 128
• UPC-A
• EAN-13
• Interleaved 2 of 5
• Postnet
• Planet
Barcode Dimensions
Height and width dimensions may be specified in raw printer dots, inches, or millimeters.
Precision
The generator automatically forces dimensions to the nearest whole printer dot so that the
resulting barcodes are precise and easily scanned. This is more accurate than TrueType and
other scaleable fonts which introduce bar width rounding errors.
Readable Text
The fonts created by the generator do not include readable text. This information can be
inserted at print time using a separate print instruction.
Operating Systems Supported
Once created, the font file can be transferred to almost any operating system: Unix,
HP-UX, AIX, Linux, MS-DOS, Pick, VMS, and others.
Printers Supported
The generated fonts can be downloaded to any printer compatible with
Hewlett-Packard’s printer command language PCL-5 or higher. This includes the
vast majority of currently available laser printers and many inkjet printers.
Downloading Fonts
Downloading a font to a printer is simply a matter of sending the font file to the
printer. In MS-DOS, use the COPY command to send the file to an LPT port. In Unix,
Linux, etc. use the cat command to send the file to the raw printer device. For network
printers it is often possible to ftp the font file directly to the printer. Fonts
are typically downloaded once at the start of a print job. Multiple fonts, each with a
different ID number, may be downloaded at one time.
Printing Barcodes
Printing a barcode requires insertion of command codes (PCL-5 escape sequences) into the
document being sent to the printer. One command selects the desired barcode font by ID
number; this is followed by the formatted data, which is followed by another command to
switch back to a text font. The details of formatting the data depend on the particular
type of barcode; details and sample code are included with the Barcode Soft Font
Generator.
FontLoader Utility
Use this utility to view font information, font-specific escape sequences, download fonts
to printers, print test barcodes, and generate Windows/MS-DOS/Unix/Linux scripts to
automate font downloading.
