What is the relationship between GS1 standard barcodes and generic barcode symbols?
We implement GS1 Linear Barcodes (Code 128, Code 39) and GS1 2D Barcodes (Data Matrix, PDF41 [sic]) as well as GS1 DataBar Barcodes in our application. Since I'm new to this, I have few questions regarding GS1 barcodes.
- What is the relationship between GS1 standard barcodes and generic barcode symbols?
- Can any text be rendered into a GS1 barcode (eg GS1 DataMatrix) or does the text have to follow a certain mandatory format?
Thanks in advance.
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Fast nit: no format like GS1 code 39, nor "PDF41" (I assume you mean PDF417, but as with code 39, this is not a GS1 accepted carrier character.)
Except for the target family of GS1 DataBar family of barcodes, the rest of GS1 barcode characters are "application standards" of various general purpose ISO / IEC barcode standards adapted for specific use in the supply chain industry and defines the GS1 Generic Characteristics . Each format was created as a specialization of some pre-existing carrier symbology (Code 128, Data Matrix, QR Code), which means that they work within the existing specification to create a more limited, custom option that is optimized for use in their particular application - for example , by reducing the range of available character sizes, enforcing data capacity constraints, and defining a specific structure for encapsulated data.
Regarding the presence of a mandatory data structure, if available in carrier symbology, GS1 Specializations use the FNC1 in first position mechanism to indicate the presence of data that conforms to the GS1 standard application identifier format as described in GS1. Therefore, product data is represented in this standard format and encoded in the carrier symbol using a scheme that is broadly similar to GS1 symbols.
The "extract" section of this answer provides details on formatting the data according to the structure of the GS1 AI standard format.
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