Code 39 reads only last four digits when H1 is included
This is the strangest thing, and I can't seem to find any information about it. My solution is basically to avoid the problem, but I have to wonder if anyone else has run into this.
I'm generating code 39 barcodes for a school library project. I'm using a Code 39 font I found online, and then merging a database of ID numbers into a label template using that font. I've done it before, and It's worked fine.
The problem is, I've discovered that if the characters "H1" are placed right next to each other anywhere in the barcode, only the last four digits are read by the scanner.
Here are some examples:
At first I thought maybe the combination of characters was some kind of "ignore everything before this" feature, but it seems that if I put "H1" anywhere in the barcode except the final two characters, it truncates the barcode to the last four characters, including the "H1" if it appears in those final characters. I'm using a Honeywell Adaptus 3800g scanner, if that makes any difference.
Basically my solution is to avoid the problem, and just (laboriously) re-generate and re-label everything with this combination. Has anyone run into this before? Do you know what causes it?
I'd check the manual for the scanner. Maybe there's a default (or someone mucked with it and entered a setting) where H1 means "four digit hex code". A restoration to factory settings for the scanner can clear up these problems.