2D · server-powered
MicroPDF417 generator.
MicroPDF417 is the compact companion to PDF417: a stacked 2D symbology that trades raw capacity for a much narrower footprint, at most four data columns wide. Type your data below, watch the watermarked live preview update, then download a clean PNG or vector SVG free, no sign-up required and commercial use allowed.
Compact stacked 2D code.
Standards-based quiet zones are always on. For production packaging, verify a printed sample with a barcode verifier.
Preview
- Renders on our servers, the one Plume tool that does.
- We keep the code type and content length, never what you encode.
- Free SVG vector + up to 600 DPI PNG, commercial use allowed.
- Full details in the privacy policy.
Valid MicroPDF417 input
The generator accepts letters, digits, punctuation, and accented characters. Capacity depends on what you type: up to 366 characters when the input is digits only, and up to 250 for general text. These are hard ceilings enforced exactly, and mixing content types lowers them. In live testing, 366 digits rendered, but 366 digits plus a single letter were rejected as too long, because one letter forces the symbol out of pure numeric compaction.
Accented characters such as ü or é render fine, but they burn capacity fastest since they encode as bytes, two bytes each, against a 150 byte ceiling. In live testing 75 accented characters rendered and 76 were refused, so budget roughly 75 characters for purely non-ASCII text and somewhere between 75 and 250 for mixed content.
Working sample: MicroPDF417 The sample encodes the symbology name itself, a short mixed case string that uses only a fraction of the 250 character text capacity.
Where MicroPDF417 is used
- GS1 composite symbols, where the CC-A and CC-B components printed above DataBar and EAN codes are built on MicroPDF417
- Electronics and small component labels where full PDF417 is physically too wide
- Healthcare identifiers on tight packaging faces
- Inventory and asset tags that need more data than a linear code in the same footprint
Common errors and how to fix them
- Maximum length exceeded or invalid size
- General text has passed the 250 character ceiling, or byte heavy content with accented characters has passed the 150 byte ceiling. Trim the payload, or step up to full PDF417, which holds several times more in a wider symbol.
- The input data is too long
- This is the numeric side of the limit: the 367th digit fails, and so does mixed input that overflows compaction, such as 366 digits followed by one letter. Keep digit only payloads at 366 or fewer, and budget lower the moment letters enter the mix.
- Enter the content to encode.
- The data box is empty. Paste or type a payload and the preview renders immediately from the first character.
Size and printing
The module width setting in mm controls the x dimension, and DPI up to 600 keeps small modules crisp at print time. MicroPDF417 was engineered for tight spaces: it replaces PDF417's wide start and stop patterns with compact row address patterns and needs only a one module quiet zone on each side. As data grows the symbol adds rows, not width, so on a label the dimension to budget is height. Use the print presets as a starting point rather than scaling a screen PNG by eye.
MicroPDF417 questions
What is the difference between MicroPDF417 and PDF417?
MicroPDF417 is the space saving variant: a maximum of four data columns, compact row address patterns instead of PDF417's wide start and stop bars, and error correction fixed per symbol version. PDF417 holds far more data; MicroPDF417 fits where PDF417 physically cannot.
How many characters can MicroPDF417 hold?
Up to 366 digits, 250 alphanumeric characters, or 150 bytes. This generator enforces the limits exactly: the 251st text character or the 367th digit is refused with an error.
Does MicroPDF417 have error correction?
Yes, always. Reed-Solomon error correction is built into every symbol at a level determined by the symbol version, so you cannot switch it off or tune it, and modest print damage remains recoverable.
Can a normal barcode scanner read MicroPDF417?
You need a 2D imager, or a laser scanner whose firmware supports stacked symbologies. Basic 1D scanners cannot reassemble the rows, and many consumer phone apps skip MicroPDF417 even when they read PDF417, so test your reader before committing to labels.