Standard 2 of 5

Standard 2 of 5 is low-density numeric linear symbology that has been invented in 1960s. The symbology is called "2 of 5" due to the fact that digits are encoded with 5 bars, 2 of which are always wide and the remaining three are narrow. Standard 2 of 5 is a numeric barcode symbology and its character set includes 10 digital characters like 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

A complete Standard 2 of 5 barcode must include a start character and a stop character. Standard 2 of 5 encodes information within width of the bars. The spaces in the barcode exist only to separate the bars themselves.

Standard 2 of 5 may include an optional modulo 10 check digit. This is not required as part of the 2 of 5 specification, but rather may be implemented in a user program to improve the accuracy of the symbology.

Standard 2 of 5 is primarily used in warehouse industry, photo finishing and airline ticket marking.

Structure of standard 2 of 5 barcode:

Standard 2 of 5 barcode has the following physical structure:

• Start character, encoded as 11011010
• Data characters
• Stop character, encoded as 11010110