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Appendix A
GS1-128
GS1-128 (formerly UCC/EAN-128) is a convention for printing data fields with standard Code 128
barcode symbols. GS1-128 symbols are distinguished by a leading FNC 1 character as the first or
second character in the symbol. Other FNC 1 characters are used to delineate fields.
When EAN-128 symbols are read, they are transmitted after special formatting strips off the leading
FNC 1 character and replace other FNC 1 characters with the ASCII 29 (GS) control character.
Standard Code 128 barcodes which do not have a leading FNC 1 may still be used, but are not
encoded according to the EAN-128 convention. Standard Code 128 and GS1-128 may be mixed in
application. All of Socket’s barcode scanning products auto-discriminate between these symbols,
and can enable or disable one or both code types. The table below indicates the behavior of these
scanners in each of the four possible parameter settings.
Reading Standard Code 128 & UCC/EAN 128
Standard Code 128
GS1-128
Effect and Example
Disable
Disable
No Code 128 symbols can be read
Disable
Enable
Read only symbols with leading FNC 1.
Examples:
FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
A
FNC1
BCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
FNC1FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
ABCD
FNC1
E cannot be read
ABCDE cannot be read
Enable
Disable
Read only symbols without leading FNC 1.
Examples:
FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E cannot be read
A
FNC1
BCD
FNC1
E cannot be read
FNC1FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E cannot be read
ABCD
FNC1
E is read as ABCD
29
E
ABCDE is read as ABCDE
Enable
Enable
Read both types of symbols.
Examples:
FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
A
FNC1
BCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
FNC1FNC1
ABCD
FNC1
E are read as ABCD
29
E
ABCD
FNC1
E is read as ABCD
29
E
ABCDE is read as ABCDE
