Bar Code Types

Kofax Capture supports a variety of one-dimensional and two-dimensional (2-D) bar code types:

  • One-dimensional bar codes encode data in the bar code's horizontal pattern (width), and typically store one value. These are the linear codes you often see on store purchases or preprinted forms. Most of these bar code types are supported with both the Standard Bar Code Engine and the Enhanced Bar Code Engine.

  • Two-dimensional bar codes are scanned horizontally and vertically, and hold considerably more data in less space than traditional one-dimensional bar codes. They can store thousands of characters, and typically contain multiple values delimited per user specifications.

To process the individual values in Kofax Capture, you must understand the structure of the encoded data so that you can parse it with a custom validation script. Then, you can use the parsed values to fill index fields. See the topic Processing Two-Dimensional Bar Codes for more details.

These bar code types are only supported with the Enhanced Bar Code Engine, which requires additional licensing.

The following tables indicate which bar code types are supported by the Kofax Capture bar code engines.

Table 1. One-Dimensional Bar Code Types

Bar Code Type

Standard Bar Code Engine

Enhanced Bar Code Engine

Invalid Combinations

Codabar

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet.

Code 128

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet. This bar code type is used on separator sheets created with the Separator Sheet Utility.

Code 39

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet.

Code 93

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet.

EAN 8 and 13

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet.

Interleaved 2 of 5

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used in combination with Linear 2 of 5 or Postnet.

Linear 2 of 5

Yes

No

Cannot be used in combination with Interleaved 2 of 5 or Postnet. Although not supported with the Enhanced Bar Code Engine, this bar code type can be selected when the Enhanced Bar Code Engine is enabled. If this is the case, the Standard Bar Code Engine is automatically used. No warning message appears.

Postnet

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used in combination with any other bar code type.

UPC-A

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used in combination with UPC-E, EAN, or Postnet.

UPC-E

Yes

Yes

Cannot be used in combination with UPC-A or Postnet.

Table 2. Two-Dimensional Bar Code Types

Bar Code Type

Standard Bar Code Engine

Enhanced Bar Code Engine

Invalid Combinations

Aztec

No

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet or Linear 2 of 5.

Data Matrix

No

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet or Linear 2 of 5.

MaxiCode

No

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet or Linear 2 of 5.

PDF 417

No

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet or Linear 2 of 5.

QR Code

No

Yes

Cannot be used with Postnet or Linear 2 of 5.