Bar Width Reduction

When a file with a barcode is printed, the barcode bars will usually print wider than the bars in the original document. This is called the ink gain or ink spread. Several factors can have an influence on ink gain: print pressure, substrate, ink type,...

To compensate for this, a Bar Width Reduction is applied when creating the barcode, where the value is divided over both directions of the bar width. A positive value will make the bars thinner; a negative value will make the bars thicker.

Bar Width Reduction is particularly interesting in the gravure printing industry.