The PostNet (Postal Numeric Encoding Technique) barcode is a variable-length, numeric 1D barcode with a checksum. PostNet was developed by the US Postal Service to encode zip code information. PostNet and Planet barcodes have been superseded by Intelligent Mail, which can encode both of the former barcodes in a single symbol.
Example Barcode
The following example barcode encodes the information 56458 as an PostNet barcode:
Details
PostNet is a 2-state barcode, similar to Planet, and is intended to encode zip code information. It can be 5, 9, or 11 digits long. Since this barcode only has two states, it is relatively data sparse - especially when compared to Intelligent Mail which can encode a Planet and PostNet barcode, using less space.
Barcode Breakdown
The table below presents a breakdown of the encoding scheme for PostNet. Please note that 1s represent full bars, and 0s represent half bars.
| Digit | PostNet Representation |
|---|---|
| 1 | 00011 |
| 2 | 00101 |
| 3 | 00110 |
| 4 | 01001 |
| 5 | 01010 |
| 6 | 01100 |
| 7 | 10001 |
| 8 | 10010 |
| 9 | 10100 |
| 0 | 11000 |
Similar Barcode Types
Barcode Variants
Planet barcodes share a similar coding scheme, but the bits are inverted and the barcodes are used for a different purpose.
Related Barcodes
PostNet is also similar to the 2 of 5 symbology (e.g. Industry 2 of 5, IATA 2 of 5, and Interleaved 2 of 5), but 2 of 5 bits are long, rather than wide.
For additional background and use-case information see our PostNet barcode page.
For more information, see the Barcode Xpress SDK product page or try our online demos.