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2D-Pharmacode

2D-Pharmacode is a variant of the Data Matrix symbology, designed for use in pharmaceutical packaging. It was created as a replacement for the linear PHARMA-CODE symbology, allowing more data to be encoded in a confined amount of space.

ClosedThe Character Set

This symbology supports all 256 ASCII characters, all ISO characters, and all EBCDIC characters.

ClosedThe Symbology Structure

The 2D-Pharmacode symbology consists of a Data Matrix code, combined with optional supplemental modules.

The Data Matrix code contains anywhere from 1 to 2000 characters of data per barcode. The perimeter of each barcode consists of a solid line on the left and bottom edges and a dotted line on the right and top edges. The Data Matrix code uses a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) for error correction.

ClosedSize and Dimensions

The Data Matrix code can be used in different magnifications, and the rest of the 2D-Pharmacode symbol will be scaled according to the size of the Data Matrix code.

The preferred sizes for a 2D-Pharmacode symbol are as follows:

With preferred symbol sizes above, the data content in the Data Matrix code of a 2D-Pharmacode symbol can be encoded using up to 26x26 lines or columns.

ClosedSupplemental Modules

Two optional supplemental modules are available for 2D-Pharmacode to provide additional functionality to the barcode.

Color Fields allow you to include up to eight different colored bars surround the Data Matrix code. Many barcode scanners can be configured to accept certain color combinations in order to verify a barcode's data input.

The Trigger Mark allows for automatic synchronization of barcode scanners for quickly-moving symbols. This supplemental module is particularly useful for scanning items as they pass down a conveyor belt.