Page 83 - ZPL II Programming Guide

ZPL Commands 63
^BE

^BE

EAN-13 Bar Code

Description The ^BE command is similar to the UPC-A bar code. It is widely used
throughout Europe and Japan in the retail marketplace.

The EAN-13 bar code has 12 data characters, one more data character than the UPC-A code.
An EAN-13 symbol contains the same number of bars as the UPC-A, but encodes a 13th digit
into a parity pattern of the left-hand six digits. This 13th digit, in combination with the 12th
digit, represents a country code.
• ^BE supports fixed print ratios.

• Field data (^FD) is limited to exactly 12 characters. ZPL II automatically truncates or
pads on the left with zeros to achieve the required number of characters.

• When using JAN-13 (Japanese Article Numbering), a specialized application of EAN-13,
the first two non-zero digits sent to the printer must be 49.

Format ^BEo,h,f,g

Note • Use Interleaved 2 of 5 for UCC and EAN 14.

Important • If additional information about the EAN-13 bar code is required, go to
www.aimglobal.org.

This table identifies the parameters for this format:

Parameters Details

o = orientation Accepted Values:
N = normal
R = rotated 90 degrees (clockwise)
I = inverted 180 degrees
B = read from bottom up, 270 degrees
Default Value: current ^FW value
h = bar code height Accepted Values: 1 to 32000
(in dots) Default Value: value set by ^BY
f = print Accepted Values:
interpretation N = no
line Y = yes

Default Value: Y
g = print Accepted Values:
interpretation N = no
line above code Y = yes

Default Value: N

9/15/06 ZPL II Programming Guide 45541L-004 Rev. A