Hi, I am using IdAutomation API (There also exists JBarCodeBean) in order to produce (code128) barcode images (either as GIF or JPEG format). The API is very easy to use. I use an fo:external-graphic tag to integrate them. On the other hand, the barcode reader I use has some difficulty to read them. It reads them ok but it seems that the generated images are of average quality and it takes the barcode reader a long time to read them. Another issue is that it is not easy to produce a image fitting a given size. You will have to play with multiples of the printer resolution. In fact, I generate big images in order to keep the quality acceptable. Apparently, the use of fonts makes better quality barcodes (They used that with the application that we are trying to replace). I have not investigated fonts as I was too short on time and the image based solution seems to be accepted (at least as of now, but that may change). I have been told that a specific algorithm is needed in order to encode the barcode value into a string of characters (that will be used for input to the font and FOP). Another reason for which I did not use this type of solution is that this algorithm is contained within a DLL and we do not want to go playing with DLLs (We are using a Java Application Server and it is not recommended to use DLLs in an AppServer). If you try fonts, let me know. I may also have a go on them if I have the time for it and/or if the guys here tell me that the barcode quality is judged unacceptable (too slow to read). Hope I gave few some good feedback.
Pascal
