Printronix LQH-HWTM manual PostBar and Royal Mail KIX, KIX Format

PostBar and Royal Mail (KIX)

PostBar and Royal Mail (KIX)

PostBar and Royal Mail bar codes, like POSTNET, are used for mailing applications. However, these bar codes can encode full addresses on labels. These bar codes are similar to POSTNET in terms of bar space and width, but have four different types of bars (Full Height, Ascender, Descender, and Tracker), whereas POSTNET only has two bar types (Tall and Short).

The Royal Mail symbology converts alphanumeric characters into patterns of four bars, using combinations of Full Height, Ascender, Descender, and Trackers. It also adds start and stop bar codes as well as a check digit, except with the KIX format (see below).

PostBar allows you complete flexibility to specify the individual bar types that comprise the signal. For PostBar, you are responsible for encoding the address, adding the start and stop codes, and supplying the appropriate check digit.

Quiet Zone

The bar code structure requires a completely blank quiet zone which is a 2mm border on each side of the bar code.

Start/Stop Code

The start and stop bars identify the orientation of the bar code.

Data Field

For PostBar, a variable length data field of digits “0” through “3” are allowed to represent the bars: Full Height (0), Ascender (1), Descender (2), and Tracker

(3). For Royal Mail, the data is restricted to alphanumeric characters “A” through “Z” and “0” through “9”. If using the KIX format for Royal Mail, lowercase characters “a” through “z” are also valid.

Each bar width is equal, and must be .020-inch ± .005-inch. Horizontal spacing between bars (pitch) must be 22 bars ± 2 bars per inch over any 0.50-inch portion of the bar code. The height of the bars (Full Height) has a maximum of 0.230 inches and a minimum of 0.165 inches.

Check Digit

For PostBar, you are responsible for encoding and check digit. For Royal Mail, a modulo-6 check digit is inserted at the end of the data field.

KIX Format

The KIX format for Royal Mail does not include the start/stop code or the check digit.

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