User guide

22 Card Design
Bar codes will print more successfully when you follow these guidelines:
• Maintain the required quiet
zone around the actual bar
code.
• Locate bar codes at least 0.25
inch (6.3 mm) from other
printing and from the edge
of the card. This space is
called a “quiet zone” and is
required for reading bar
codes.
• Print bar codes with a monochrome ribbon or the
monochrome (K) panel of a full-color print ribbon.
Make sure the color used to print the bar code
works in your bar code readers. (Infrared readers
require that the K panel be used to print the bar
code.)
• For best results, orient the card so the bars are parallel to the long edges of the
card, as shown. This orientation is the most accurate one for printing readable
bar codes.
• A bar code that uses more width can be
easier to read, because the bars are larger. In
the example shown, the format is the same
(code 3 of 9). The font size sets the width of
the bar code (and therefore the bar code
density). (In the example, the font size also
controls the height. Your method of
generating bar codes might be different.)
• The width of the narrow elements in the bar
code must be large enough to be read
consistently. The bar code reader might affect this.
• The bar code must be tall enough to be read under normal conditions.
• The ANSI standard for bar code quality (X3.182) assigns a grade to a bar code
to indicate its readability. Choose a K power value and bar code size to
produce the grade needed by your system.
• Cards used can affect the readability of bar codes. Usually, a white surface
that reflects light in many directions is needed. Test cards before purchasing
production quantities.