Overview
ISO/IEC 23634:2022 specifies the JAB Code polychrome bar code symbology, a colour-capable 2D barcode format for automatic identification and data capture. The standard defines the JAB Code symbol structure, module dimensions, colour palette handling, data encodation, error correction, symbol cascading, print quality requirements and a reference decode algorithm. ISO/IEC 23634 is intended for implementers who need a formal specification to generate, print, verify and decode JAB Code symbols reliably.
Key Topics
- Symbology characteristics: Definitions of primary and secondary symbol types (square and rectangular), finder and alignment patterns, and reserved modules.
- Symbol structure & dimensions: Rules for symbol side size, module dimension and layout to ensure interoperable encoding and decoding.
- Colour palette and polychrome support: Metadata and palette construction methods to represent multiple colours in data modules, plus verification of palette accuracy.
- Data encodation & modes: Encoding modes (alphanumeric, byte, ECI, FNC1, etc.), metadata placement and procedures for generating the bitstream.
- Error correction & interleaving: Error correction levels, encoding parameters and interleaving algorithms to improve robustness against damage and printing defects.
- Symbol cascading: Docking and decoding order rules for multi-symbol messages that exceed a single symbol’s capacity.
- Reference decode algorithm: Image pre-processing, colour classification, finder/alignment pattern detection, sampling grid establishment and metadata/data decoding steps.
- Print quality & verification: Quality evaluation criteria and colour verification metrics (reference to ISO/IEC 15415 for verification parameters).
Applications
- Supply chain & logistics: Encoding richer data using colour palettes and cascading for complex product identifiers.
- Retail & packaging: High-density, multi-colour labelling where additional data or branding elements are embedded.
- Healthcare & pharmaceuticals: Secure, machine-readable multi-field data on labels (batch, expiry, serialization) with robust error correction.
- Software & hardware vendors: Barcode generator libraries, camera-based scanners and mobile apps implementing decoding algorithms.
- Printing & quality assurance: Printers, label converters and QA teams using the standard’s print quality and colour verification guidance.
Who should use it: barcode developers, systems integrators, scanner manufacturers, label printers, standards specialists and QA engineers involved in automatic identification and data capture (AIDC).
Related Standards
- ISO/IEC 15415 (print quality evaluation for 2D symbols) - referenced in the standard for verification parameters.
- Other 2D symbology standards (e.g., ISO/IEC 18004 QR Code, ISO/IEC 16022 Data Matrix) for context in AIDC implementations.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 23634, JAB Code, polychrome bar code, symbology specification, automatic identification, data capture, error correction, colour palette, symbol cascading, decode algorithm.