GS1 DataMatrix

GS1 DataMatrix is one of the types of barcodes that can be added to a template; see Barcode.

The barcode can be added either using the Barcode toolbar button or through selecting Insert > Barcode on the menu; see Adding a barcode.

To change a barcode's properties, such as the scale and color, open the Barcode properties dialog: right-click the barcode (on the Design tab in the Workspace) and select the Barcode... option in the context menu.

About GS1 DataMatrix barcode data

In order to create a GS1 DataMatrix barcode, the barcode data must meet the following requirements.

  • The barcode data must start with a leading FNC1 character. Either ~1 or ~d232.

  • The GS1 Application Identifiers (AI) must be used for all data.
    The function code ~1 must be used as field separator for variable length AI elements.

  • Only ASCII characters should be used.

This topic lists the properties and output options of the barcode type GS1 DataMatrix. For the properties of other barcode types, see Barcode type and properties.

Barcode properties

Dots Per Pixels

Type the number of dots per pixel. To optimize barcode quality a Data Matrix symbol should not be printed with dots smaller than 4 pixels.

Preferred format

Use the drop-down to select the size of the Data Matrix.

Scale

Defines if and how the rendered barcode is scaled in relation to the parent element:

  • None: The barcode is rendered based on the module width.

  • Proportional: The barcode is stretched up to where it fits either the width or height of the parent box, whichever requires the less stretching.

Tilde processing

Check this option to process tilde (~) characters in the data as special characters. (See the Java4less Barcodes Guide to learn what the tilde character can be used for.)
The tilde is expected to be followed by the 'd' character and 3 digits representing an ASCII character: ~dNNN . For example, ~d013 represents a carriage return.
Note that with this option checked, any tilde that needs to be included in the output must be escaped by adding another tilde: ~~.

Note: The following tilde codes are supported in GS1 DataMatrix barcodes:

  • ~1 = FNC1 character (for GS1 DataMatrix barcodes)
  • ~2 = Structure Append
  • ~3 = Reader programming
  • ~5 = Macro5
  • ~6 = Macro6
  • ~7 = ECI expressions

Barcode output

Color

The Color group allows you to choose a different Barcode color (instead of black) and Background color (instead of white), by typing a hexadecimal color value (see for example w3school's color picker).

When black is a composite of CMYK or RGB values, it may incur a color click charge on some printers. Check the Output in Grayscale option to make sure that pure black is used.

Output format

Defines how the barcode is output on the page. There are two possible formats:

  • SVG: Vector format. This is usually of higher quality, but may take longer to generate and is not compatible with Email output.

  • PNG: Binary rasterized format. This has a slightly lower quality than SVG but is usually generated faster and will display properly in Email output.