How long should a barcode be

In order for a UPC symbol to be scannable, it must be generated within the acceptable size range. The table below provides the specific dimensions for each UPC magnification. Our GS1 Barcode Support provides personal, comprehensive service to your company. Variable text fields will use 1 byte per character or more for Unicode type fields but let's ignore those for now plus some overhead.

That overhead might be as little as bytes or as much as 16 or more depending on the database. The only issue you run into is row limits. This too is database dependent. On some for example the entire row can only take up to 64K in size so the sum of all sizes can't exceed that. Other than that it doesn't matter. These formats can easily encode plenty of digits, surely more than you need for a unique ID.

So isn't the question merely, how long are your IDs? Is 10 digits plenty? Or if they're numeric IDs, you shouldn't even store as a string of characters. Use a numeric SQL type.

Code 39 is restricted to 43 characters. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams?

Collectives on Stack Overflow. Learn more. Barcode field length Ask Question. See here for narrow bar width. Character to indicate start or end of the data. Bar patterns representing the data numerical characters, alphabet, etc. A numeric value calculated to check for read error.

It is appended directly after the barcode data. See here for details. Barcode length defines the total length including the right and left quiet zones. The standard definition of Code does not limit the number of characters that can be encoded, however GS the formal application of Code to the supply chain industry limits it to 48 characters. Code supports double-density compression of numeric data "mode C" which makes encoding long strings of digits much more efficient.

ISBN barcodes are printed on editions of publications except reprints. The barcodes will be unique for each type of a book. For example, a single publication printed in paperback, hardcover or e-book will each have a separate and unique ISBN number and barcode. ISBN barcode data consists of a 13 digit numeric code 10 digits prior to January SCC Barcodes are commonly used on shipping cartons and pallets. They consist of a digit code that allows receiving docks to receive multiple units shipped on a single pallet.

GS1 DataBar barcodes used primarily for point of sale and healthcare applications for items such as coupons, produce and other perishable items. They are more compact than typical consumer barcodes. GS1 DataBar barcodes are a family of barcodes. Some GS1 barcodes in this family look very similar to familiar barcodes with a series of vertical black and white lines while other have stacked formats with a 1x space between both stacked barcodes see examples below.

Some of these stacked formats allow for the embedding of attributes such as expirations or sell by dates, product weights, etc. QR Code barcodes are most commonly focused on consumers. They allow for encoding large amounts of data to store information related to consumer usage such as website URLs, phone numbers, business cards and ticketing information.

These barcodes can interact directly with a smartphone to enable a user to visit a website or automatically dial a phone number by scanning the QR code with the smartphone's camera - they are not readable using a laser scanner. Data Matrix barcodes get their name from the black and white "cells" or modules arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern - also know as the matrix.