Zebra CPCL Specifications download pdf (Page 54)

Mobile Printing Systems

CPCL Programming Manual

Section 5

Linear Bar

Codes

pg. 5-10

Code 128 and the UCC-128 Shipping Standard

Code 128 is used for applications that need to contain a large amount of data such as shipping

applications, marking blood donations, and any other application that can vary in length between bar

codes being scanned. The bar code also contains a checksum as the last character in the code which

ensures that data remains intact.

Code 128 can use the entire ASCII 128 character set as well as other subsets available in the universal

symbology specification. The three start and stop characters determine which character set to use. The

checksum for this bar code is located immediately before the stop character. The bar code symbology

specification contains all the information on calculating this checksum. For a short example, we desire to

encode “BAR128” in a bar code. We will use “A” as our start and stop character in this example.

Step 1: The symbology specification assigns a numerical value for each character. Find the values of all

the characters in the data.

Step 2: Add the value of the start character and all the data characters multiplied by its position in the

bar code. For our example, the calculation would be 103 + (34 x 1) + (32 x 2) + (50x 3) + (17x 4) +

(18x 5) + (24 x 6) = 672.

Step 3: Divide this number by 103. The remainder or modulo, 54, is the checksum. The character that

assigned to 54 in the specification is “V”. Our final code will look like “ABAR128V” where “A” is the

start character, “BAR128” is the data, and “V” is the checksum.

The UCC-128 Shipping Standard is part of a document called Application Standard for Shipping

Container Codes available from the Uniform Code Council. This 90-page guide contains the entire

specification on marking any shipment sent anywhere in the United States. Seventeen pages are dedicated

to the technical considerations of using, placing, and printing these bar codes. We highly recommend

getting this information if your application involves shipping.

Code 128/ UCC-128 Specications

Bar Code

Symbology

Bar Code

Type

Input

Length

Characters

Ideal Wide/

Narrow

Ratio

Ideal

Narrow Dot

Width

Checksum

Calculation

Code 128 /A/B/C/

Auto

128 Variable Refer text N/A 2 mod 103

UCC-128Std. UCCEAN 16 Refer text Refer text N/A 2 mod 103

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Zebra CPCL Specifications Page 54

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Zebra CPCL Specifications Page 54

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