How is the IM™BC different from the PLANET Code®?
The IM™BC is a 4-state barcode that uses 4 different bar lengths to add more digits to the barcode. Using these additional digits the barcode can both track your mail like a PLANET Code®, but it also replaces the POSTNET™ barcode for routing mail. Tracking and routing are done by a single barcode, as well as other “Intelligent Mail” functions. The IM™BC is printed from a font, but the font is not a direct translation of numbers. Instead, you will build a number and feed that number into an encoder, a piece of software created by the Postal Service™. That encoder will convert the number into a sequence of 65 letters. There are only four possible letters: F, A, T and D. Each letter corresponds to a type of bar. It is this sequence of letters that will be printed in the IM™BC font, becoming 65 bars. There are no framing bars, so it is okay to have a short bar at the beginning and/or at the end of the barcode. There is no check digit. You cannot directly translate the barcode into numbers.
