MAKE: Blog: HOW TO - Read postal bar codes

HOW TO - Read postal bar codes

Microsoft has how to read those little bar codes the post office uses on your mail... - "This article describes how to read a postal bar code in order to determine whether Microsoft Word created a correct postal bar code. A postal bar code is composed of three main components: framing bars, number bars, and checksum bars. The first bar on the left side and the last bar on the right side of the postal bar code are framing bars for the postal bar code. You can ignore these. To read the bar code, start with the second bar. Group the bars into groups of five bars each. Each number in a postal bar code consists of five bars." [via] - Link.

Other bar code-y type projects @ MAKE:

Bar code quilt - Link.
HOW TO - Make a touch-screen bar-code scanning system - Link.
LEGO barcode reader - Link.
Making a magnetic stripe card reader - Link.

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