The Macro PDF specification details how to format the codes and process the scanned result. If the encoded data doesn't fit into a single PDF417 barcode, it can be spread over several individual codes that are linked together. As a side effect, this also reduces the error correction capability of the code, Compact / Truncated codes are therefore only recommended for applications where it is unlikely that the barcode is damaged (e.g. Here the stop character pattern is reduced to a single narrow bar. It's rarely used, the main application is with GS1 composite barcodes.Īnother attempt to reduce the size of PDF417 are Compact or Truncated PDF417. Micro PDF is a simplified version of PDF417 with reduced space requirements that encodes max. Micro PDF417, Macro PDF417, Compact (Truncated) PDF417Īs the code gets rather large (see below) a more compact version was introduced in the mid-1990s. Myth that the barcode on the ticket can be used to determine the odds of having a winning number on the ticketīefore the actual draw. Another application is on PowerBall® tickets, sometimes in combination with Code 2-of-5 Interleaved. In the US the barcode is also used for Military Shipment Labels (MSL) and container labels since Mil Std 129R.
Despite this and other disadvantages, PDF417 is still widely used in the transport industry, in manufacturing and on various forms of ID documents, like driver licenses, passports, airline boarding passes etc. What is PDF417 used for?Įven for small amounts of data PDF417 symbols get fairly large when compared to a modern 2D code (see below for a comparison illustration). While the code can be scanned from any angle like true 2D matrix codes the scanning process usually takes longer. Readily available and cheap barcode imagers as well as camera-equipped smartphones have rendered this concept obsolete. Designed in the early 1990s, the code was originally intended to be scanned row by row with standard CCD barcode scanners which had to be dragged across the code. QR or Data Matrix), PDF417 is actually several linear barcodes
PDF417 (from Portable Data File) is a two-dimensional code that can hold up to 2,000 characters.