Barcode Technology - PDF417 Barcode               Hide the description

PDF417 is a stacked linear barcode format used in a variety of applications such as transport, identification cards,

and inventory management. "PDF" stands for Portable Data File. The "417" signifies that each pattern in the code consists of 4 bars and spaces in a pattern that is 17 units (modules) long. The PDF417 symbology was invented by Ynjiun P. Wang at Symbol Technologies in 1991.

Valid characters: ASCII 1-255

The PDF417 is a 2D barcode. It is based on stacked barcodes. The characters are coded in code words. A code

word consists of 17 modules, which consist respectively of 4 strokes and 4 spaces.
The PDF417 is a very compact and flexible code with variable length. Up to 1108 bytes can be coded.

A PDF417 symbol takes about four times the area of a DataMatrix or QR Code.

PDF417 is used in many applications by both commercial and government organizations. PDF417 is one of the

formats (along with Data Matrix) that can be used to print postage accepted by the United States Postal Service. PDF417 is also used by the airline industry's Bar Coded Boarding Pass (BCBP) standard as the 2D bar code symbolism for paper boarding passes. PDF417 is the standard selected by the Department of Homeland Security as the machine readable zone technology for RealID compliant driver licenses and state issued identification cards. PDF417 barcodes are also included on visas and border crossing cards issued by the State of Israel (example).

In addition to features typical of two dimensional bar codes, PDF417's capabilities include:

Linking. PDF417 symbols can link to other symbols which are scanned in sequence allowing even more data to be stored.
User-specified dimensions. The user can decide how wide the narrowest vertical bar (X dimension) is, and how tall the rows are (Y dimension).
Public domain format. Anyone can implement systems using this format without any license.

PDF417 is one of the many barcode formats currently in use.

A Barcode is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form.

The barcode formats has two categories:

One-dimensional (1D) --- Barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines.

Two-dimensional (2D) --- Using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns to represented data.

Of the 929 available code words, 900 are used for data, and 29 for special functions, such as shifting between

major modes. The three major modes encode different types of data in different ways, and can be mixed as necessary within a single bar code:

Byte: each group of 5 code words represents 6 bytes. (Because 9005 > 2566.) Additional bytes are encoded one per code word.
Numeric: n digits are encoded in ⌊n/3⌋+1 code words, up to a maximum of 44 digits in 15 code words.
Text: Each code word represents two base-30 digits, which are used by a system of four submodes to represent the printable ASCII characters (plus CR, LF and HT):
Uppercase: A¨CZ, SP, Change to lowercase, Change to mixed, Interpret next digit as punctuation
Lowercase: a¨Cz, SP, Interpret next digit as uppercase, Change to mixed, Interpret next digit as punctuation
Mixed: 0¨C9, &, CR, HT, comma, :, #, -, period, $, /, +, %, *, =, ^, Change to punctuation, SP, Change to lowercase, Change to uppercase, Interpret next digit as punctuation
Punctuation: ;, <, >, @, [, \, ], _, `, ~, !, CR, HT, comma, :, LF, -, period, $, /, ", |, *, (, ), ?, {, }, ', Change to uppercase.

Error Correction Level:

PDF417 uses a differently strong error correction. It is used according to the code length. By use of less than 41 code words the Error Correction level 2 is used. From 41 to 160 code words ECL3 is used. From 161 to 320 code words ECL4 is used. From 321 code words ECL5 is used.

Human Readable:

Most barcodes display their corresponding values below them, which makes it possible to human read and manually  enter the barcode values into the equivalent system when the barcode label is worn out and cannot be read by the barcode scanner.

FAQ About PDF417 Barcode

What is the historical origin of the PDF417 barcode?

The PDF417 barcode is one of the four most popular 2D barcodes yet to be developed. PDF417 barcode is a two-dimensional stacked barcode that can store large amounts of data. It was invented by Dr. Wang Yinjun of Symbol Technologies in the United States in 1991.

PDF stands for Portable Data File, and 417 means that each character consists of 4 bars and 4 spaces, with a total of 17 modules. PDF417 barcodes are commonly used in applications such as ID cards, driver's licenses, and shipping labels.

Three other common 2D codes are QR codes, DataMatrix, and MaxiCode; several others were developed between 1988 and 1995, but they never became widely used.

The name PDF417 comes from an acronym for "Portable Data File". "417" is added because there are 4 bars and 4 spaces arranged within every 17 module codewords (i.e. characters). These characters or clusters have a specific formula for the size of each bar in the cluster.

Unlike square DataMatrix or QR codes, PDF417 is actually a high-density, stacked linear symbology with a rectangular shape. It is stacked to hold large amounts of data¡ªtypically 100 to 200 characters¡ªand the aspect ratio can be adjusted to accommodate space constraints. It has varying levels of redundancy built in, so up to 50% of the code can be corrupted, but the data can still be recovered. But overall, PDF417 takes about four times the space required by DataMatrix or QR codes.

PDF417 has gained popularity in the shipping industry and is often used by FedEx. It was also chosen to print postage for the US Postal Service, often used for airplane boarding passes. Also, you'll often see it on driver's licenses and other ID cards. Other applications include manufacturing parts tracking, lottery tickets, patient wristbands and trade show lead retrieval systems.

PDF417 consists of 3 to 90 lines of data and can encode up to 1850 ASCII or 2725 numeric characters. This code is designed to be scanned with a slightly modified raster laser scanner or a linear CCD scanner such as the DS6708 2D Imager. NOTE: At the high end of data encoding (over 800 characters), you may find it better to switch to the macro PDF version, depending on the data type, the level of error correction chosen, and the scanner used.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of PDF417 barcode?

Advantage:

Large information capacity: PDF417 barcode can represent numbers, letters, Chinese characters or binary data, and can hold up to 1850 characters or 2710 numbers.

High error correction ability: The error correction ability of PDF417 barcodes is divided into 9 levels. The higher the level, the stronger the error correction ability, and partially damaged barcodes can be restored.

Good readability: PDF417 barcodes can be recognized by traditional linear scanners or image sensors without special equipment.

Strong confidentiality and anti-counterfeiting: PDF417 barcodes can be protected against counterfeiting using passwords, software encryption or fingerprints, photos and other information, making them difficult to counterfeit or tamper with.

Shortcoming:

Takes up a lot of space: PDF417 barcodes are stacked with multiple lines of barcodes and require a large printing area and scanning range.

High printing costs: PDF417 barcodes require high-resolution printers and consumables, and the printing costs are high.

Slow recognition speed: PDF417 barcodes require multiple scanning and decoding, and the recognition speed is slow.

What are the applications of PDF417 barcode?

SIdentification: PDF417 barcodes can store personal information, such as name, gender, date of birth, photos, fingerprints, etc., for ID cards, driver's licenses, passports and other documents.

Logistics management: PDF417 barcode can store logistics information, such as cargo name, quantity, weight, destination, etc., and is used for transportation labels, express orders, warehouse management, etc.

Electronic bills: PDF417 barcode can store the content of electronic bills, such as invoice number, amount, tax rate, etc., and is used for electronic invoices, electronic receipts, etc.

Ticket management: PDF417D code can store ticket information, such as performance name, time, seat number, etc., to facilitate ticket management and ticket verification.

Payment management: PDF417D code can store payment information, such as order number, amount, payment method, etc., to facilitate payment management and settlement.

Medical management: PDF417D code can store medical information, such as medical record number, patient name, diagnosis results, etc., to facilitate medical management and diagnosis and treatment.

Comparison between QR Code and PDF417.

QR Code recognition is faster than PDF417, reaching 30 codes/second, while PDF417 is 3 codes/second.

QR Code can realize 360¡ã rotation and reading in all directions, and PDF417 needs to be within the range of +/-10¡ã to be read.

QR Code represents Chinese characters 20% more efficiently than PDF417 code. QR Code uses 13 bits to represent a Chinese character, while PDF417 uses 16 bits to represent a Chinese character.

QR Code has large data capacity and high information density, and can represent up to 3KB of content, while PDF417 can only represent up to 1KB of content.

QR Code is a square, and PDF417 is a rectangle. With the same data capacity and limited area, QR Code can represent more content.

QR Code has lower requirements for reading equipment, and the length of PDF417 will increase when the capacity is relatively large, so it is required that the reading equipment can read a longer space.

There are many tool controls that support QR Code development and are very convenient to use.

QR Code is also known as mobile phone QR code, so QR Code not only supports Windows, Linux and other systems on traditional PC equipment, but also supports the main systems of mobile phone platforms, such as: Windows Mobile, Symbian OS, etc., and PDF417 has not yet have seen similar applications.

The main identification solutions currently used by PDF417 in the market are barcode guns and data collection equipment. Such equipment is generally relatively expensive.

In addition to the above-mentioned devices, there are currently many QR Codes that can be decoded by PC cameras and mobile phones. The image is acquired through the PC camera and then transferred to the computer for decoding by computer software.

It is best to use the PDF417 barcode gun after training, otherwise it will be difficult to scan and decode. When scanning the QR Code with a mobile phone or computer camera, the operation is much easier because there is an intuitive image to see.

In addition, because QR Code is already very routine in mobile phone applications, there are more and more applications for QR Code identification on mobile phones. Not only can it be used in scanning codes to surf the Internet and send text messages, but also in industrial applications. The trend of handheld code scanners.

Technical data of PDF417.

Normative Standard: The normative standard for PDF 417 barcode symbology is called ISO/IEC 15438:2001 (ISO International Standard).

PDF417 data capacity: A single PDF417 symbol can theoretically hold 1850 alphanumeric characters, 2710 numbers, or 1108 bytes. Due to internal data compression algorithms, the exact data capacity depends on the structure of the data to be encoded. Maximum PDF417 capacity is also affected by available print space and printer resolution.

The default character set is CP437.

Error correction: PDF417 provides a built-in error correction method based on the Reed-Solomon algorithm. The user can adjust the error correction level between level 0 (just error detection) and level 8 (maximum error correction).

Recommended error correction levels are between Level 2 and Level 5, but the optimal value depends on the amount of data, print quality and decoding capabilities of PDF417 symbols.

PDF417 supports 'Structured Append', in which case the symbol is named macro PDF417 or MacroPDF. Theoretically up to 99999 PDF417 symbols can be connected. If a scanner or decoder supports this feature, it will return the concatenated data contents of all PDF417 symbols in the correct order.

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