Welcome to BarcodeGenerator for Mac OS X

4. Creating Datamatrix

Note: This document is also available via the applications "Help" menu.

Datamatrix

1. Click the Datamatrix tab in the main window:



2. Enter data to encode

Enter your data, then hit <Enter> or <TAB> to update the preview window.

Datamatrix can encode non printable characters (like TAB). To encode a non printable character enter the tilde "~" followed by the 3-digit ASCII code, e.g. to encode a TAB enter "~009" into "Data to encode".

If you are encoding binary values or umlauts ("Ü") make sure your scanner will read them properly. Most keyboard wedge scanners will not transmit that kind of data correctly. If in doubt stick with ASCII data or use a serial scanner set to 8 Bit data format.

3. Settings

Values for module size (the modules are always square) can range from c. 0.2 mm to over 1 mm, depending on your requirements or application, respectively.

Since this code can encode far more than 1000 characters having a human readable interpretation doesn't make sense in most cases. If HR text is enabled the software will truncated anything in the HR text that goes beyond 255 characters.

Note: The software will always create square Datamatrix modules. Rectangular shapes (which can carry only up to 50 bytes are not supported).

Note 2: The software creates Datamatrix type ECC 200, the only Datamatrix type in use today. ECC 140 is not supported.

4. Output / Print


You have several options to output the created barcode:

a. To print directly to a printer or typesetter, select menu File->Print. Set output options with File->Print settings. Rather than directly printing to a printer you can also have your output written to a PDF for later use.

b. To export to a TIFF enter the required resolution (default is set to 300 dpi) and click "Save...". In the dialog that comes up select the target file's name and folder.

c. You may also copy the generated barcode to the clipboard in TIFF format. Again, specify the required resolution and click "Copy". In your application execute Edit->Paste to paste the barcode into your document.

Note: The TIFFs generated by BG are not compressed. This is intentional to maintain maximum cross platform / OS compatibility. As a guideline expect the following file sizes:

Datamatrix with 100 bytes encoded, settings at defaults (ca. 15 * 15 mm):

300 dpi: <1 MB
600 dpi: 2 MB
1200 dpi: 4 MB
2400 dpi: 8MB
3200 dpi: 11 MB

If your application permits you can of course open and resave compressed the generated files with PhotoShop or any other image processing software. However, it's NOT recommended to use lossy compression formats like JPEG. Stick with TIFF or PNG.

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