HIBC LIC Code 128 Generator

Code 128 symbol carrying HIBC LIC data for medical product labeling in hospital supply chains.

How HIBC LIC Code 128 is structured

The HIBC LIC data string — the + flag character, the labeler identification code, the product or catalogue number, a unit-of-measure digit and a modulo-43 check character — is encoded as ordinary Code 128 characters. Nothing about the data is hidden: a standard Code 128 reader returns the full string including the leading plus sign, which is how receiving systems verify the label without a proprietary decoder.

HIBC LIC Code 128 check digit

The trailing check character is computed modulo 43 over the preceding characters, using the Code 39 value table. On top of it, Code 128 contributes its own mod-103 check character, which the reader strips automatically — so a mismatch in the LIC check character surfaces as a receiving-system rejection, not as a failed scan.

HIBC LIC Code 128 compared with HIBC LIC Data Matrix

HIBC LIC Data Matrix carries the same string in a 2D symbol where label space is short or where the imager fleet is already 2D. GS1-128 is the GS1 counterpart for the same supply chain, using application identifiers instead of the HIBC flag and labeler code, so a single label should use one convention throughout. Compare the HIBC LIC Data Matrix generator page for the same breakdown of structure, check digit and use cases.

Common HIBC LIC Code 128 problems

The leading plus sign was stripped on entry

The flag character is part of the data, not punctuation. A form that trims leading punctuation silently produces a symbol the receiving system rejects, so verify the scanned string starts with + before printing the run.

The mod-43 check character was omitted

Code 128 will encode the string happily without it, but the HIBC validation step then fails downstream. Compute and append the check character over the LIC fields, and confirm it against the receiving system's expected value.

The symbol scans but the label is rejected

That pattern usually means the LIC fields themselves are wrong — a labeler code of the wrong length, or a unit-of-measure digit missing — rather than a scanning problem. Parse the returned string field by field against the HIBC LIC structure.

Where HIBC LIC Code 128 is used

Medical product labels read with standard linear scanners
Hospital supply chain labelling where 2D imagers are not deployed
HIBCC-regulated products requiring a HIBC LIC primary data string

Not sure this is the right symbology? The barcode format guide groups every supported 1D and 2D format by industry with its character set and limits.