This tutorial outlines how to create USPS Intelligent Mail (IMb) Container Barcodes (USPS-B-3215) with IDAutomation’s Code 128 Barcode Fonts, Barcode Label Software and other barcode generation products. This tutorial should be used with the USPS specification for additional formatting and placement specifications.
- Determine the data structure, which depends upon the Mailer ID assigned by the USPS:
6 Digit Mailer ID Structure Application Identifier Two digits, which is 99 Type Indicator The letter “M” Mailer ID The assigned 6 digit mailer ID Serial Number A 12 digit serial number, padded with leading zeros if less then 12 digits. 9 Digit Mailer ID Structure Application Identifier Two digits, which is 99 Type Indicator The letter “M” Mailer ID The assigned 9 digit mailer ID Serial Number A 9 digit serial number, padded with leading zeros if less then 9 digits. - Determine which product to use to generate tray labels. IDAutomation offers easy-to-use Barcode Label Software with VB Script, which is a stand-alone application. Additionally, IDAutomation offers Code 128 Barcode Fonts and Barcode Components, which can be integrated into an existing application or print process.
- The data from the chart above are combined to be encoded in the GS1-128 format with an incrementing serial number. In the following VB Script example, ~212 identifies “99” as a two digit AI and L# increments the serial number. In this example, the serial number is starting at 100000000 to eliminate the need to pad leading zeros, which can be problematic.
“~21299M123456789” & 100000000 + L#
- The size of the barcode is adjusted to be within specifications:
Width: 17 MILS, which is a font size of 20 points.
Height: 0.75″, which is created with the IDAutomationC128M font. - Ensure ApplyTilde is enabled, which allows ~212 to identify “99” as a two-digit AI. The ~212 is not actually encoded in the barcode. The result must be 21 digits, for example:
99M123456789100000001
- When generating GS1-128 symbols, IDAutomation recommends testing the result with the Barcode Decoder App which parses out GS1 data to verify proper encoding.