Deutsche Post Identcode
The Deutsche Post Identcode linear barcode is based on the popular 2 of 5 Interleaved barcode and uses its symbology. The differences lie in the purpose of the code. Identcode was created specifically for Deutsche Post to identify the postal sender. Based on the required size of the sender data, the code length has been reduced to 12 digits compared to 14 for Interleaved. However, the actual length of the encoded data is 13 characters, since the 13th is used for the checksum, which is necessary to verify the correctness of the code reading.
Identcode has the following structure:
- start character;
- 2 digits for the primary distribution center identifier;
- 3 digits for the customer ID;
- 6 digits for the zip code;
- check digit;
- stop character.
If we represent bars and spaces as binary characters, then the start character is designated as follows: 1010. This character helps determine the reading direction.
The 2 of 5 Interleaved code table is used to encode data digits. Each data character consists of 5 bars or 5 spaces, of which two must be wide and the rest narrow. It is important to note that all codes of the 2 of 5 family use both bars and spaces for encoding. Therefore, the code length is always even, since one set of 5 bars and 5 spaces between them encodes two digits at once. This ensures the high density and compactness of the code.
After 11 data digits, a checksum follows, which is calculated using the Modulo 10 algorithm.
The code ends with a stop character, which is encoded as a sequence of 101.
To generate a Deutsche Post Identcode barcode in FastReport .NET, select the Barcode object at the Components Panel in the Report Designer. In the drop-down list, navigate to the "Post" category, and then choose Deutsche Identcode:
After selecting the barcode, place it on the Report Page.
Double-click on the added barcode to open the editor. You can also open the barcode editor by clicking the button in the context menu of the added object, accessed by right-clicking:
If you want to hide the text under the barcode, locate the ShowText
property in the property inspector of the corresponding barcode and set its value to False
: