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ABC fonts are a range of TrueType, machine readable barcode fonts specially designed by
Altek Instruments Ltd in the UK. Our engineers have been in the forefront of barcode developments
for more than 25 years. ABC stands for Altek Bar Code. ABC fonts are specially designed
for use on PCs printing barcodes on laser and inkjet printers.
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Why ABC fonts are the best you can get
Our considerable experience of printing barcodes has taught us that barcodes
produced by regular office computer printers often have to be printed at
a larger than ideal size if they are to scan reliably. The reason is the
bars and spaces are distorted by inherent limitations of the mechanical printing
process.
It is not possible to precisely calculate the exact distortion because it occurs as a
result of a number of variables. However Altek have discovered that barcodes tend to
exhibit certain characteristic 'error features' as the barcode size is reduced through
certain proportional size reductions. Although in general the error becomes
proportionally larger as the barcode size is reduced the error accumulation
is not a simple function of the size reduction.
Altek have addressed the problem of producing high data density barcodes from
two directions. Firstly we have developed a proprietary algorithm to produce a
'barcode sizing factor'. Secondly our intimate knowledge of barcode decoding
algorithms tells us which aspects of the barcode dimensions are the most critical and
which may be safely relaxed.
These two pieces of information enable us to produce fonts which consistently
produce barcodes of a better resolution and quality, fonts which can be printed
reliably at smaller sizes and thus achieve a higher data density. The best fonts
you can get.
Font Engineering
Altek's machine readable TrueType fonts are precisely proportioned engineering components
designed to be the crucial link in your data collection applications. Altek fonts are
properly hinted and balanced and include a carefully chosen factor to compensate
for ink gain and other 'real world' problems that can limit your options when using
uncompensated fonts.
Summary
Most barcode fonts will produce satisfactory barcodes providing the barcode is printed
large enough. ABC barcode fonts are better. ABC fonts are specially hinted and use
proprietary information to include a factor designed to compensate for the barwidth errors
introduced by the physical printing process. These techniques have been developed over a
period exceeding 15 years experience in the barcode printing field. The result is a font
that will print reliably at sizes smaller than other fonts using the same paper stock
and printing process. This can provide a useful increase in the density of information in
the barcode and speed throughput by enhancing the scanner hit rate.
Features List
- ABC fonts are properly hinted and balanced and include a proprietary
factor to compensate for ink gain and other 'real world' problems that can cause
scanning difficulties when using regular fonts.
- ABC fonts print consistently better and at higher data densities than other fonts.
- ABC fonts are more tolerant of variable paper quality.
- ABC fonts employ a proprietary sizing factor suitable for laser or ink jet printers.
- ABC fonts produce camera ready art requiring no additional compensation.
- ABC fonts are engineered to out perform the others.
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