IDAutomation.com Barcode Image Generator

Barcode Image Generator is a tool developed by IDAutomation.com that produces high-quality barcode images of various linear types.

It allows you to customize its properties (margins, height and length, bar width, etc.), the properties of the created image (DPI, orientation, etc.), the text and colors, and the caption properties (fonts, colors, etc.). The output barcode can be saved as a BMP, TIFF, PNG, or JPEG file, among other formats.

As compared to other similar tools, the list of barcode symbologies supported is not terribly exhaustive (less than 20 in total), and it includes a strange mixture of 1-dimensional barcodes (codes 128, 39, and 93, and interleaved 25), point-of-sale barcodes (EAN 13, EAN 8, UPC-A, and UPC-E), US postal service barcodes (Planet, Postnet, and IntelligentMail), and a number of less-used barcode types, such as Codabar, Code 11, Industrial 25, Matrix 25 or MSI. The average user will miss popular barcode types, such as those related to the book industry (ISBN, ISMN, and ISSN), non-US postal and some pharmaceutical symbologies, and of course all symbols falling into the 2D and GS1 categories.

The program’s one-window interface is neatly organized in four tabs where you can customize the properties of the barcode, the image, the text and the colors, and the captions. All changes performed in any of the settings provided will be visible in real time in the provisional image of the barcode that appears at the bottom left of the program’s interface, allowing you to make as many corrections as needed before truly generating the image file. Apart from saving the barcode in any of the image formats mentioned above, you can send it to the Windows clipboard and paste it elsewhere or send it directly to your printer. For bulk barcode production, the program offers you the possibility of batch-creating any number of barcodes by importing all the codes from a text file.

Barcode Image Generator is not a free tool – actually, the average user will find its price tag prohibitive. This, together with the somehow strange array of barcodes supported, gives me the impression that this utility has been developed with a very specific user profile – and with very specific barcode needs – in mind. Those with a more generic profile can always use any of the various free online and desktop barcode generators available on the Web.