Standard / Source
- AIM-BC7-2000 — Uniform Symbology Specification — Code 16K
Industry Use Case
Code 16K is a stacked barcode based on Code 128, used in space-constrained applications:
- Healthcare: Used in US medical settings for patient identification and sample tracking
- Electronics/PCB marking: Used in the US and France for tagging chips and printed circuit boards
- Small item labeling: Where a linear barcode would be too wide, Code 16K stacks the data vertically
- Manufacturing WIP: Work-in-progress tracking on small components
Description
Implement Code 16K, a multi-row stacked symbology:
- 2 to 16 rows, each row based on Code 128 encoding
- 5 ASCII characters per row
- Total capacity: 77 ASCII characters or 154 digits
- Full ASCII character set (128 lower ASCII + 256 extended with FNC4)
- Uses Code 128 character sets A, B, and C
- Up to 107 symbols can be concatenated (linking up to 8,025 ASCII characters)
- Minimum X dimension: 7.5 mils
- Row height: at least 8X
- Leading quiet zone: 10X, trailing: 1X
The implementation can reuse Code 128 encoding logic for individual rows.
Current Status in etiket
Not supported. etiket has Code 128 but no stacked variant.
Priority
Low — Niche format used in healthcare and electronics. Less common than PDF417 or Codablock F for stacked applications, but still encountered in specific industry workflows.
References
Standard / Source
Industry Use Case
Code 16K is a stacked barcode based on Code 128, used in space-constrained applications:
Description
Implement Code 16K, a multi-row stacked symbology:
The implementation can reuse Code 128 encoding logic for individual rows.
Current Status in etiket
Not supported. etiket has Code 128 but no stacked variant.
Priority
Low — Niche format used in healthcare and electronics. Less common than PDF417 or Codablock F for stacked applications, but still encountered in specific industry workflows.
References