Barcode Xpress for Node.js v13.2 - Updated
Australia Post 4-State
User Guide > Concepts > Barcode Specifications > Barcode Types > Australia Post 4-State

The Australia Post 4-State barcode is a variable-length, alphanumeric 1D barcode with 37 to 67 bars depending on the chosen format. Reed-Solomon Error correction is employed to detect and correct data transmission errors when possible. This 4-state barcode was developed to increase efficiency in Australia's Postal Service. 1

Example Barcode

The following example barcode encodes the information 1112345678 as a Australia Post 4-State barcode:

Australia Post 4-State

Details

The Australia Post 4-State barcode encodes 37 to 67 bars of information. There are 3 formats of Australia Post 4-State barcodes: the Standard Customer Barcode, Customer Barcode 2, and Customer Barcode 3. 1

Barcode Breakdown

Australia Post 4-State barcodes have the following format: 1

FCC Field

The FCC field is a 2-digit (4 bar) field identifying the barcode format: 1

If the FCC code is not valid, the confidence will decrease by 10%.

Customer Information Field

This is a variable length section only available in Customer Barcode 2 and 3 formats (with lengths of 16 and 31, respectively). This field can be encoded by the "N" or "C" encoding tables as defined by Australia Post or a proprietary encoding scheme.

Error Correction

As stated above, each format of the Australia Post 4-State barcode contains 12 error correction bars. This allows for data recovery even when up to 2 symbols have errors, or up to 4 symbols to have erasures.

Managing Organization

The Australia Post manages the Australia Post 4-State specification. 1

Platform-Specific Notes

There is a free format area available in the Customer Barcodes 2 & 3. This will be decoded using the AustralianPostCustomDecodeType.

  • If the decode mode is "BarStates", then the output will be either bar state "F" full bar, "T" tracker bar, "A" ascending bar, or "D" descending bar.
  • If the decode mode is "TableN", then the output will be decoded using the numeric decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "TableC", then the output will be decoded using the character decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "NoCustomDecode", then the bars in the custom section are not decoded.
  • If the decode mode has no custom decode type, use "NoCustomDecode".

There is a free format area available in the Customer Barcodes 2 & 3. This will be decoded using the AustrailianPostCustomDecodeType.

  • If the decode mode is "BarStates", then the output will be either bar state "F" full bar, "T" tracker bar, "A" ascending bar, or "D" descending bar.
  • If the decode mode is "TableN", then the output will be decoded using the numeric decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "TableC", then the output will be decoded using the character decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "NoCustomDecode", then the bars in the custom section are not decoded.
  • If the decode mode has no custom decode type, use "NoCustomDecode".

There is a free format area available in the Customer Barcodes 2 & 3. This will be decoded using the BC_AustralianPostCustomDecodeType.

  • If the decode mode is "BarStates", then the output will be either bar state "F" full bar, "T" tracker bar, "A" ascending bar, or "D" descending bar.
  • If the decode mode is "TableN", then the output will be decoded using the numeric decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "TableC", then the output will be decoded using the character decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "NoCustomDecode", then the bars in the custom section are not decoded.
  • If the decode mode has no custom decode type, use "NoCustomDecode".

There is a free format area available in the Customer Barcodes 2 & 3. This will be decoded using the BX_AustralianPostCustomDecodeType.

  • If the decode mode is "BarStates", then the output will be either bar state "F" full bar, "T" tracker bar, "A" ascending bar, or "D" descending bar.
  • If the decode mode is "TableN", then the output will be decoded using the numeric decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "TableC", then the output will be decoded using the character decoding defined in the Australian Post specification.
  • If the decode mode is "NoCustomDecode", then the bars in the custom section are not decoded.
  • If the decode mode has no custom decode type, use "NoCustomDecode".

Similar Barcode Types

Barcode Variants

The Australia Post 4-State barcode has 3 variants: the Standard Customer Barcode, Customer Barcode 2, and Customer Barcode 3.

Related Barcodes

Australia Post 4-State barcodes are similar to other 4-state barcodes that are common among postage organizations (e.g. Royal Post 4-State, Intelligent Mail).

References

  1. "Customer Barcoding Technical Specifications." Australia Post, Australia Post, Aug. 2012, auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/customer-barcode-technical-specifications-aug2012.pdf.


For more information, see the Barcode Xpress SDK product page or try our online demos.

 

 

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