Bulk PDF417 generator

PDF417 is generated in runs where each symbol carries a whole record rather than a key: shipping manifests, driving licences, dangerous goods documentation. The payloads are long by design, and a batch of long payloads is where the symbology's shape — rows of stacked codewords — becomes a layout problem before it becomes an encoding one.

One value per line. A single line of comma- or semicolon-separated values works too. A header row (like “Value”) counts as a value and will be rejected — leave it out.

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Enter a value — the code appears here.

Specification

Character set
any data
Length
from 1 to 1850 characters
Check digit
not used by this symbology

Need the specification and use cases first? What is PDF417?

Where this code earns its place in a batch

  • Label runs where each symbol must carry the whole record: a shipping document or an identity card is read where no database is reachable.
  • Batches printed on wide stock rather than square labels — the format stacks rows, so it fits a strip along a document better than a square code would.
  • Regulated document runs: driving licences, hazardous goods paperwork and boarding documents specify PDF417, so the choice is made before the batch begins.

Preparing the list

  • Fix the number of columns for the batch: left to itself the encoder picks a shape per value, and a run of different shapes does not fit one label template.
  • Keep the records structurally identical — same fields in the same order — so that every symbol in the run has roughly the same length and therefore the same number of rows.
  • Check the height of the tallest symbol against the label before printing: PDF417 grows downwards in rows, and the tallest row count decides the whole run.

What goes wrong in a batch

  • Letting the aspect ratio float across the batch, which produces symbols that are wide and short in one row of labels and narrow and tall in the next.
  • Encoding entire free-text descriptions: the format takes them, but each one lengthens the symbol, and a batch is printed to one fixed area.

Frequently asked questions

Why do my PDF417 symbols have different heights?
Because the encoder fills rows of codewords, and a longer payload needs more rows. Fixing the column count makes the height depend on the payload alone, which is why keeping records structurally identical keeps the batch uniform.
Is PDF417 a good choice for a bulk label run?
It is when each label must carry a full record that has to be readable without a database — a shipping document, an identity card. When the label only needs a key that a system looks up, a smaller two-dimensional code does the job in far less space.