As Roger mentioned, AFP printers create barcodes from AFP commands. The commands are created by a Page Definition. The COBOL application simply writes the data to be encoded at a fixed position in the data. For example, in COBOL you might write a line containing the value for the barcode:
01 Line-2 Pic X(10) Value '5432109876'. In the Page Definition, you would code: Printline repeat 1 position margin next; /*BARCODE*/ FIELD START 1 LENGTH 10 FONT GT10 POSITION * 0.4 BARCODE TYPE CODE39 MOD 1 HRI BELOW HRIFONT GT10 HEIGHT 0.25 IN; The key concerns are printed barcode dimensions and the data to be encoded. Each type of barcode has defined limits to the amount of data it can carry and the size of the symbology (bars, spaces). It's best to start with the default values. You should test the printed result with a scanner to determine successful read rates, and if the scanner to be used is inside your company, tested and adjusted to the scanner for best results. Note that 3 of 9 (Code 39) is not for encoding standard UPC codes. You need UPC or EAN Barcodes for that. For more information, see http://www.adams1.com. Howard Turetzky Advanced Technical Support, M/S 004L Dept 966 Ricoh Production Print Solutions 6300 Diagonal Hwy, Boulder, CO 80301 howard.turet...@infoprint.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN