pdf417 0.8.1
PDF417 2D barcode generator for Python
License: MIT
Keywords: pdf417 2d barcode generator

===================================
PDF417 barcode generator for Python
===================================

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/travis/mosquito/pdf417.svg?maxAge=3600&style=flat-square
   :target: https://travis-ci.org/mosquito/pdf417

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/badge/author-%40mosquito-blue.svg?maxAge=3600&style=flat-square
   :target: https://twitter.com/mosquito

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/github/license/mosquito/pdf417.svg?maxAge=3600&style=flat-square
   :target: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

.. image:: https://img.shields.io/pypi/v/pdf417.svg?maxAge=3600&style=flat-square
   :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/pdf417


Easily encode your data into a 2D barcode using the PDF417 format.

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mosquito/pdf417/master/images/1_basic.jpg

Licensed under the MIT License, see `LICENSE <LICENSE>`_.

Installation
------------

Install using pip:

.. code-block::

    pip install pdf417


CLI
---

The ``pdf417gen`` command can be used to generate a barcode from commandline. It
takes the input either as an argument or from stdin.

.. code-block:: bash

    # Show help
    pdf417gen encode --help

    # Encode given text and display the barcode
    pdf417gen encode "Beautiful is better than ugly"

    # Encode given text and save barcode to a file (extension determines format)
    pdf417gen encode -o barcode.png "Explicit is better than implicit"

    # Input from a file
    pdf417gen encode < input.txt

    # Piped input
    python -c "import this" | pdf417gen encode


Usage
-----

Creating bar codes is done in two steps:

* Encode a string to a list of code words using ``encode()``
* Render the barcode using one of the rendering functions: ``render_image()``,
  ``render_svg()``.

Usage overview:

.. code-block:: python

    from pdf417 import encode, render_image, render_svg

    # Some data to encode
    text = """Beautiful is better than ugly.
    Explicit is better than implicit.
    Simple is better than complex.
    Complex is better than complicated."""

    # Convert to code words
    codes = encode(text)

    # Generate barcode as image
    image = render_image(codes)  # Pillow Image object
    image.save('barcode.jpg')

    # Generate barcode as SVG
    svg = render_svg(codes)  # ElementTree object
    svg.write("barcode.svg")


Supports strings (unicode in py2) and byte arrays (str in py2):

.. code-block:: python

    # These two inputs encode to the same code words
    encode(u"love 💔")
    encode(b"love \xf0\x9f\x92\x94")

    # Default encoding is UTF-8, but you can specify your own
    encode(u"love 💔", encoding="utf-8")



Encoding data
-------------

The first step is to encode your data to a list of code words.

.. code-block:: python

    encode(data, columns=6, security_level=2)

Columns
~~~~~~~

The bar code size can be customized by defining the number of columns used to
render the data, between 1 and 30, the default value is 6. A bar code can have a
maximum of 90 rows, so for larger data sets you may need to increase the number
of columns to decrease the rows count.

.. code-block:: python

    codes = encode(text, columns=12)
    image = render_image(codes)
    image.show()

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mosquito/pdf417/master/images/2_columns.jpg

Security level
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Increasing the security level will produce stronger (and more numerous) error
correction codes, making the bar code larger, but less prone to corruption. The
security level can range from 0 to 8, and procuces ``2^(level+1)`` error
correction code words, meaning level 0 produces 2 code words and level 8
produces 512. The default security level is 2.

.. code-block:: python

    codes = encode(text, columns=12, security_level=6)
    image = render_image(codes)
    image.show()

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mosquito/pdf417/master/images/3_security_level.jpg

Auto Numeric Compaction Mode
----------------------------

This mode can pack almost 3 digits (2.93) info a symbol character.
The words with length less 13 symbols will be invoked as Text

.. code-block:: python

    codes = encode(text, numeric_compaction=True)


Render image
------------

The ``render_image`` function takes the following options:

* ``scale`` - module width, in pixels (default: 3)
* ``ratio`` - module height to width ratio (default: 3)
* ``padding`` - image padding, in pixels (default: 20)
* ``fg_color`` - foreground color (default: ``#000000``)
* ``bg_color`` - background color (default: ``#FFFFFF``)

.. note::

   A module is the smallest element of a barcode, analogous to a pixel. Modules
   in a PDF417 bar code are tall and narrow.

The function returns a Pillow Image_ object containing the barcode.

Colors can be specified as hex codes or using HTML color names.

.. code-block:: python

    codes = encode(text, columns=3)
    image = render_image(codes, scale=5, ratio=2, padding=5, fg_color="Indigo", bg_color="#ddd")
    image.show()

.. image:: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mosquito/pdf417/master/images/4_rendering.jpg

Render SVG
----------

The ``render_svg`` function takes the following options:

* ``scale`` - module width, in pixels (default: 3)
* ``ratio`` - module height to width ratio (default: 3)
* ``padding`` - image padding, in pixels (default: 20)
* ``color`` - foreground color (default: `#000000`)

The function returns a ElementTree_ object containing the barcode in SVG format.

Unlike ``render_image``, this function does not take a background color option.
The background is left transparent.

.. code-block:: python

    codes = encode(text, columns=3)
    svg = render_svg(codes, scale=5, ratio=2, color="Seaweed")
    svg.write('barcode.svg')

See also
~~~~~~~~

* pdf417-php_ - a PHP implementation
* golang-pdf417_ - a Go implementation
* Specifications_ - USS-PDF-417

.. _pdf417-php: https://github.com/ihabunek/pdf417-php
.. _golang-pdf417: https://github.com/ruudk/golang-pdf417
.. _ElementTree: https://docs.python.org/3.5/library/xml.etree.elementtree.html#elementtree-objects
.. _Image: https://pillow.readthedocs.io/en/3.2.x/reference/Image.html
.. _Specifications: https://www.expresscorp.com/public/uploads/specifications/44/USS-PDF-417.pdf