PDF417 generator

Trading width for height

The same text can be short and wide, or tall and narrow, depending on how many data columns you allow. Here is the 62 character sample text at a 0.33 mm narrow bar, including clear space.

PDF417 width and height by data column count

Data columns	Rows	Width	Height
2	23	1.39 in (35.3 mm)	0.95 in (24.1 mm)
4	12	1.83 in (46.5 mm)	0.52 in (13.2 mm)
8	6	2.72 in (69 mm)	0.29 in (7.3 mm)

Row height changes it too. Three times the narrow bar is the smallest offered here, and a taller row gives a hand scanner more room to cross at an angle. Compact PDF417 trims the right-hand row indicator and shortens the stop pattern, which saves width if your print is clean and your scanner handles it.

Error correction levels

PDF417 adds repair codewords that can rebuild data lost to scratches or smudges. Each level doubles the number, and the same 62 characters grow to fit them.

PDF417 error correction levels and what each costs in rows and width

Level	Repair codewords	Rows	Modules wide
0	2	10	137
2	8	12	137
4	32	14	154
6	128	24	188
8	512	40	307

Level 0 only detects damage and cannot fix it, so avoid it for anything that matters. Automatic chooses a level from the data length, which suits most labels. Moving from level 2 to level 8 makes the same text more than twice as wide and over three times as tall. Go up only as far as your conditions demand.

What the rows are made of

Every row has the same structure: a start pattern, a left row indicator, your data columns, a right row indicator and a stop pattern. Each of those blocks is 17 modules wide except the stop, which is 18. So a code with 4 data columns is 17 + 17 + 68 + 17 + 18, or 137 modules wide. The row indicators say which row this is, so a scanner can read rows in any order and stitch them together.

What people use PDF417 for

Shipping and warehouse labels are the common case, and Wikipedia lists paper airline boarding passes and printed postage in the US among its uses. It suits a label that must carry a full record, with no database behind it. The record travels with the item, so a scanner can read it offline.

If your text is under a few dozen characters, a Code 128 barcode is simpler to print and read. If space is tight, a Data Matrix code holds a similar amount in a much smaller square, though it needs a camera-type scanner. To test your text in every format at once, use the barcode generator.

Getting a clean print

PDF417 is wide, and hand scanners have a limited reading window, so check that your scanner sees the full width. The clear space is 2 modules on all sides, and the file includes it. Print a test sheet at 100 percent, then scan it from the distance you will use in daily work.

PDF417 among the 2D formats

PDF417 is one of the stacked and matrix formats compared in what a 2D barcode is. Before you rely on a phone to check a print, scanning a barcode with your phone says which built-in apps read which formats.