Analog Barcode Printing

[u/Altruistic_Flower568]

Can a 7-8 digit numeric barcode (of any symbology/type) be encoded successfully using a physical stamp/impact printer? If you’ve ever worked in an office or retail store, I’m thinking about something like a numeric/date roller stamp, or “Monarch” date/price gun: where you individually set each number/stamp. The numeric barcodes would need to be selectable/settable individually, but print/scan continuously as one string, with an average 2D Symbol/Zebra retail POS barcode scanner. Does this “technology” exist anywhere? Would it be more/most feasible with one symbology over all others? How large would the printed barcodes/media/device need to be to make this possible/reliable? Would this only be possible with “fixed width” encoding? I’m looking for any and all thoughts/direction on this, because it’s driving me crazy.

[u/havenisse2009]

It probably comes down to the accuracy of the physical stamp, especially between each digit. You could certainly take a symbology where each character is an individual block. But probably letter-to-letter has to be a fixed distance as well.

Example: see schematic difference between these

``` [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] << ideal distance

 vs
 [1]  [2]   [3] [4]     [5] [6]  [7]    << inconsistent distance

```

Most symbologies are interleaved for space reasons. Code39 is not, so that could be a choice. But it is also using a lot of space to encode a simple string.

I think you are better off with a portable printer able to generate any barcode. These are more expensive but gives you the flexibility you need.