How to get good quality barcodes with AVS Barcode Source

The 'AVS Barcode Source' barcode generator software will always create barcode images that are as accurate and high-quality as possible. But there are still things you can do to ensure the resulting barcode image for your product or book is as good as it can be, and will scan as successfully as possible.

To ensure you always get the best possible barcode images using 'AVS Barcode Source', note the following tips:

Whenever possible, save your image in the EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) file format. 'AVS Barcode Source' can save images in this format, so if your desktop publishing (DTP) software can import this format (and almost all packages can), then this is the best choice. This is because it is what is called a 'vector' format, and your barcode will be reproduced as accurately as possible by the DTP software.
Make sure you set the DPI (dots per inch) setting correctly. If you are unsure, either ask your printing company, or check the DTP of the target document in your DTP software if you are producing it yourself. Setting the DTP setting correctly allows 'AVS Barcode Source' to create the barcode at the correct size and resolution.
Get the size of the barcode right in the 'AVS Barcode Software' - DO NOT resize the barcode in your DTP software or elsewhere. 'AVS Barcode Source' contains a number of options for sizing your barcode, from fully automatic, to fully manual - but once the image is saved, do not resize the image outside of 'AVS Barcode Source'.
Choose high-contrast colours for your barcode. Most barcodes are printed black-on-white, and this is by far the best option. To take an extreme example, if you printed your barcodes yellow on light-green, they would probably not scan successfully at the checkout. Stick to very dark (preferably black) bars on a very light-coloured (preferably white) background.
Use 'bar width reduction' if necessary. On some ink surfaces that are porus (such as cardboard and some papers), the ink can 'spread' a bit, making the black bars wider and the white 'spaces' narrower. This is disasterous for barcodes - so the 'bar width reduction' option can be used to help cancel it out. A bit of trial-and-error is often the only way to find the setting that will work best in these cases.
Finally, always test your barcodes before doing a big print run. Depending on how much your print run is going to cost, you may be happy to just do a few tests yourself, or maybe ask a local shop with barcodes scanners to test for you. Or, you may want to hire professional barcode image testing equipment. Only you can decide when you are happy that your barcode image is good enough to 'go out' into the world!

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