Creating barcodes
The barcode must be in a consistent position on every page and must be a consistent size. If text, an image, or another barcode already exists in the area where you want to create a barcode, first hide the area so that the existing text, image, or barcode does not print.
To determine the exact origin and size of the barcode area, work from a copy of the sample AFP file printed on the production printer. Measure where you want to place the top-left corner of the barcode area (X and Y positions) on the printed page from the top-left corner of the logical page. For BCOCA barcode objects, also measure the width and height of the area.
- In RICOH Visual Workbench, open a sample AFP file.
- If the file does not contain page groups or index tags for variable values (such as ZIP Codes) that you want to use in barcode data, use AFP Indexer to create page groups and index tags.
- Click .
- Navigate to the page where you want to create the barcode:
- To place a barcode on the same page in every page group, navigate to that page in any page group.
- To place a barcode on multiple pages (for example, on even pages in every page group), navigate to one of the pages in any page group.
- Position your cursor at a corner of the barcode area. While pressing the left mouse
button, draw a box the approximate size of the barcode area. You can draw a horizontal,
vertical, or square box.
In a later step, you can specify the exact position and size of the barcode area.
- Right-click anywhere in the AFP file and click Create barcode.
You see the Create Barcode window.
- On the Type tab, type a name for the area, select the type, and specify other properties.
For a description of the fields, see the information center topic about the Type tab.
- On the Data tab, specify the data to be encoded in the barcode symbol.
For a description of the fields, see the information center topic about:
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Data tab for Code 39, Data Matrix, Interleaved 2-of-5, PDF417, POSTNET, and QR Code barcodes
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Data tab for IMBs
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- On the Position tab, specify the exact origin and size of the barcode area, the orientation of the
barcode symbol within the area, and on which pages to place the barcode in each page
group.
For a description of the fields, see the information center topic about the Position tab.
- Click OK.
If you have more than one barcode defined, you might see the Create Conditions between Definitions window. Click Yes if you want to create a condition for determining which barcode is used, and then click OK.
If you created an Intelligent Mail barcode (IMB), POSTNET, or QR Code barcode, you see the barcode symbol in the AFP file. If you created a Code 39, Data Matrix, Interleaved 2-of-5, or PDF417 barcode, you see a box surrounding the barcode area with the title of the barcode area in the orientation that you selected for the barcode symbol.
Note: If you created a text IMB but do not see the barcode symbol, identify the resource directory that contains the AFP IMB font to RICOH Visual Workbench (). The AFP IMB font is installed in theaiw/aiw1/plugins/EditAFP(Linux) orC:\aiw\aiw1\plugins\EditAFP(Windows) directory. - If you see an error message, the barcode is not created in any page group. In addition,
no other barcodes or hidden areas are created. If the Create Barcode window is open, correct the barcode properties.
If the Create Barcode window is already closed, click to correct the properties.
(In the Modify and Delete Definitions window,
identifies the barcode with the error.)If you included index tag values in the barcode data and the error message indicates that barcode data is too long or contains characters that are not valid, you might need to modify the index tag to correct the problem.