Specifications

Data Matrix Formats

Format Number	Size	Numeric Capacity	Alphanumeric capacity	Binary capacity	Max Correctable Error/Erasure
0	10 x 10	6	3	1	2
1	12 x 12	10	6	3	3
2	14 x 14	16	10	6	5/7
3	16 x 16	24	16	10	6/9
4	18 x 18	36	25	16	7/11
5	20 x 20	44	31	20	9/15
6	22 x 22	60	43	28	10/17
7	24 x 24	72	52	34	12/21
8	26 x 26	88	64	42	14/25
9	32 x 32	124	91	60	18/33
10	36 x 36	172	127	84	21/39
11	40 x 40	228	169	112	24/45
12	44 x 44	288	214	142	28/53
13	48 x 48	348	259	172	34/65
14	52 x 52	408	304	202	42/78
15	64 x 64	560	418	278	56/106
16	72 x 72	736	550	366	72/132
17	80 x 80	912	682	454	96/180
18	88 x 88	1152	862	574	112/212
19	96 x 96	1392	1042	694	136/260
20	104 x 104	1632	1222	814	168/318
21	120 x 120	2100	1573	1048	204/390
22	132 x 132	2608	1954	1302	248/472
23	144 x 144	3116	2335	1556	310/590
24	8 x 18	10	6	3	3
25	8 x 32	20	13	8	5
26	12 x 26	32	22	14	7/11
27	12 x 36	44	31	20	9/15
28	16 x 36	64	46	30	12/21
29	16 x 48	98	72	47	14/25

Encoding Modes

• ASCII is used to encode data that mainly contains ASCII characters (0-127). It encodes one alphanumeric or two numeric characters per byte.
• C40 is used to encode data that mainly contains numeric and upper case characters. C40 encodes three alphanumeric data characters into two bytes.
• TEXT is used to encode data that mainly contains numeric and lowercase characters. TEXT encodes three alphanumeric data characters into two bytes.
• BASE256 is used to encode 8 bit values.

All encoding systems can be used to encode any data, however, encoding binary data with C40 generates much more overhead (a larger symbol) than with BASE256.

Control characters and use of the tilde

• ~X: Is used to represent ASCII character values from 0 to 26. Replace the X like in the following example ~@ = means character ASCII 0, ~A= means ASCII 1, ~B=means ASCII 2, ~C=means ASCII 3 and so on. The most used symbols are ~I for a tab and ~M which is a return function. These are useful when encoding multiple fields in a single symbol.
• ~1: Represents the character FNC1. When FNC1 appears in the first position (or in the fifth position of the first symbol of a Structured Append), it will indicate that the data conforms to the UCC/EAN Application Identifier standard format.
• ~2: It is used to represent Structured Append. Structured Append is used to link information from several symbols in a sequence. The ~2 must be followed by 3 additional bytes. The first 4 bits of the first byte identify the position of the particular symbol in the sequence. The last 4 bits identify the total number of symbols in the sequence. The second and third byte are used as a file identifier are can have a value between 1 and 254 (up to 254*254=64516 identifiers). See the Data Matrix Specification for more information about this (ISO 16022).
• ~3: This character are only allowed in the first position of the symbol. It indicates that the data contains commands for the barcode reader.
• ~4: Not allowed.
• ~5 and ~6: These characters are only allowed in the first position of the symbol. If ~5 is used the header [)> ascii30 ascii05 ascii29 will be transmitted by the barcode reader before the data in the symbol and the trailer ascii30 ascii04 will be transmitted after the data. If a ~6 is used , the header [)> ascii30 ascii05 ascii29 will be transmitted by the reader before the data and the trailer ascii30 ascii04 will be transmitted afterwards.
• ~7NNNNNN: Specifies the Extended Channel to be used, where NNNNNN is a value between and 000000 - 999999. For example: ~7000010 means Extended Channel 10. Extended channel is used for using other character sets other than ASCII. See the Data Matrix Specification for more information about this (ISO 16022).
• ~dNNN: Represents the ASCII character encoded by the 3 digits NNN. For exmaple, ~d065 represents the character 'A'.

Line Spacing Issues (too much space between each line)

Some implementations of PostScript fonts can cause a small space to appear between rows in the symbol. The only way to overcome this issue is to make sure your printing application is not adding additional line feeds or in the case of PCL fonts, change the vertical motion index as indicated below. This space will not cause problems with scanners and the barcode will still be readable.

When using 12 or 14 point PCL fonts, an adjustment to the vertical motion index is not usually necessary. However, if you are using other sizes, you may need to adjust it to close the gap between rows. To set the vertical motion index, issue the command before printing with the Data Matrix font. The code for the vertical motion index Command is escape "" + "&" + lowercase L "l" + Number Index + Capital "C". Use the chart below below to find the command for your font size. The number may be adjusted as necessary for your printer.

PCL Font Point Size	Vertical Motion Index Command to Use
10	<Ec> &l6.5C
8	<Ec> &l5.2C
6	<Ec> &l3.9C

In the example above, the represents the escape character for your software. In DOS Edit, Ec is represented by holding down the CTRL key and pressing the letter P, Releasing both keys and then press the ESC key.

X Axis Issues or Left Margin Alignment Issues

This issue may exist if you try to move the barcode to the right on the X axis using a programming language such as Visual Basic. When using the printer.currentX specification to set the X axis, only the first line of the barcode would print in the new position and the remaining lines would print at zero (all the way to the left). This is because the printer.currentX specification is reset every time a return is performed. A return must be performed to print the font on the new line

The best solution to this problem would be to find a command that could move the left margin so that returns will return the insertion point to the correct position. Since Visual Basic does not have a command like this a small piece of code must be written to set the currentX for each line.

Step 1. Declare and initialize a variable with the desired X position. Example: my_x = printer.currentX

Step 2. Replace the "Printer.Print OutputString" command with something similar to the following....

For i = 1 To Len(Output)
   out1 = out1 & Mid(Output, i, 1)
      If Mid(Output, i, 1) = Chr(10) Then
         out1 = Replace(out1, Chr(10), "")
         out1 = Replace(out1, Chr(13), "")
         Printer.CurrentX = my_x
         Printer.Print out1
         out1 = ""
      End If
Next i

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