Pharmacode Generator

Single-track numeric barcode for pharmaceutical packaging line control.

How Pharmacode is structured

Pharmacode encodes one integer between 3 and 131070 in a single track of bars. The binary representation of the number decides the pattern: each bar is either thin or thick and the gaps between bars carry no data at all, which is why a large number needs so few printed bars. It can be read in either direction along the track, and a two-track variant exists for applications that need more capacity than one track allows.

Pharmacode check digit

There is no check character. Integrity comes from the print process and from a numbering scheme that makes an accidental wrong number obviously implausible, so the human-readable number printed beside the symbol is part of the design rather than an optional extra.

Pharmacode compared with Codabar

Code 128 carries the same number with a check character and full ASCII support, but needs far more printed width. Against Codabar, Pharmacode is strictly a number between fixed limits with no framing characters — there is nothing to configure beyond the value itself. Compare the Codabar generator page for the same breakdown of structure, check digit and use cases.

Common Pharmacode problems

The value is outside 3 to 131070

One track cannot represent anything below 3 or above 131070. A zero or a very large sequence number fails to encode; renumber the sequence so it sits inside the range, or move it to a symbology with a wider numeric range.

Leading zeros were treated as part of the value

Pharmacode encodes a number, not a digit string, so 0042 is 42. If the printed field is meant to keep a fixed digit count, that has to be handled in the numbering scheme and the human-readable line, not in the symbol.

Bars merged on a fast packaging line

Because the gaps carry no data, a slight bleed between bars changes the value silently. Keep the specified minimum bar and gap widths for the print process and verify the read-back value, not just that a barcode appeared.

Where Pharmacode is used

Packaging line control on blister and carton lines
Unit-dose and collation numbering inside a pharma pack
Inline verification where the symbol is read by fixed scanners

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.