Byte Compaction mode permits all 256 possible 8-bit byte values to be encoded. Numeric Compaction mode permits efficient encoding of long numeric data digit strings.
Various function codewords for control purposes.
1108 characters at 1.2 data characters per codeword. 2710 characters at 2.93 data characters per codeword. Since the number of rows and columns are selectable, the aspect ratio of a PDF417' symbol may be varied when printing to suit the spatial requirements of the application. All error correction levels, except Level 0, not only detect errors but also can correct erroneously decoded or missing codewords. Generally data is not directly represented on a one character for one codeword basis.