What is the Difference Between IM barcode, Postnet and Planet?
Intelligent Mail barcode, Postnet and Planet are three universal postal barcode types developed by the United States Postal Service. In this article, we will discuss the usage of each symbol and make a comparison between them.
Basic introduction
The Postnet (Postal Numeric Encoding Technique) barcode symbology was used by the US Postal Service (USPS) for directing mail of items. The Planet (Postal Alpha Numeric Encoding Technique) barcode was also used by the USPS to identify and track mail. These two symbologies were typically used in conjunction and they were part of the USPS’ Confirm service efforts. Postnet was superseded by the USPS Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) in 2009 and Planet was superseded by IMb in 2013.
A quick comparison table
Intelligent Mail barcode vs. Postnet vs. Planet
- Planet code digits were the inverse of the Postnet code digits, basically reversing long bars for short bars and short for long.
- IMb effectively encodes data from Planet and Postnet into a single symbol in addition to providing enhanced tracking data. As a result, IMb provides the ability that allows users to participate in multiple services with one barcode.
- Compared to Postnet and Planet, IMb includes a larger capacity. There are five IMb fields: Barcode Identifier, the Service Type Identifier, the Mailer ID, the Serial Number, and the Routing Code (AKA Zip Code). These fields help users identify the value-added service they want.
What’s More
We also list the other three sets of comparisons of commonly confused barcodes:
If you’d like to compare other barcode types, please check out our online barcode comparison tool.
Take the Next Step
We hope this helps you to determine which barcode type you are going to choose. Now it’s time to read the barcodes. You can download Dynamsoft Barcode Reader to implement barcode reading functionality into your application.
After downloading the Dynamsoft Barcode Reader, you can start your free 30-Day trial and try our online demo.
Originally published at https://www.dynamsoft.com on July 21, 2020.
