Intelligent Mail Barcode in Microsoft Word

Requirements
IMB Barcode Data Structure
How to create Intelligent Mail Barcode in Microsoft Word
Related Tutorials

Requirements

Download and install the barcode generator

IMB Barcode Data Structure

Intelligent Mail Barcode Data Fields

There are two Intelligent Mail barcode constructions with different Mailer ID sizes.

A 6-digit Mailer ID and 9-digit Serial Number:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Barcode ID		Service type ID			Mailer ID						Serial Number									Routing Code 0, 5, 9 or 11 digits
00		700			333333						444444444									55555
00		702			003333						000044444									555555555

A 9-digit Mailer ID and 6-digit Serial Number:

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Barcode ID		Service type ID			Mailer ID									Serial Number						Routing Code
00		702			333333333									000044						55555555555

Barcode Identifier - The field is reserved to encode the presort identification. Generally, should be left as 00 if an OEL (optional endorsement line) is not printed on the mailpiece:

00 - No OEL Information
20 - 5-Digit/Scheme
30 - 3-Digit/Scheme
40 - Area Distribution Center (ADC)

Read more about data fields and codes in USPS IMB Technical Resource Guide.

Service Type Identifier - A 3-digit field that indicates participation in Postal Service programs. Corresponds to a particular mail class with a particular combination of services:

700 - First-Class Mail with no services
702 - Standard Mail with no services
704 - Periodicals with no services
710 - Priority Mail with no services
712 - Priority Mail Flat Rate with no services

Mailer Identifier - A 6-digit or 9-digit customer identifier, shall be assigned by USPS.

How To: Mailer ID Application Process

Serial Number - A 6-digit or 9-digit field depending on the length of the Mailer ID. Can be populated with a number that uniquely identifies each mailpiece (Mailpiece ID) or mailing (Mailing ID).

Routing Code is an optional field, which may contain a 5-digit ZIP Code, a 9-digit ZIP+4 code, or an 11-digit delivery point code.

Intelligent Mail Barcode Physical Dimensions

Barcode width must be in the range of [2.667..3.225]in.

Barcode height must be in the range of [0.125..0.165]in.

In our examples below, we create 3x0.140 inch barcodes.

How to create Intelligent Mail Barcode in Microsoft Word

1. Press Alt+F11 to open the VBA window.

2. Double-click the ThisDocument item in the project tree.

3. Paste the code into the editor:

Sub CreateIMB()
  BarcodeID = "72"
  ServiceID = "367"
  MailerID = "219931914"
  Serial = "949452"
  RoutingCode = "457875197"

  Dim s As Shapes
  Set s = ActiveDocument.Shapes

  On Error Resume Next
  s("IMB").Delete
  On Error GoTo 0

  Dim shape As shape
  Set shape = s.AddOLEControl("STROKESCRIBE.StrokeScribeCtrl.1")
  
  Dim o As Object
  Set o = shape.OLEFormat.Object

  shape.Name = "IMB"

  shape.Height = InchesToPoints(0.145)
  shape.Width = InchesToPoints(3)
  shape.Left = InchesToPoints(1)
  shape.Top = InchesToPoints(1)
  
  o.HBorderSize = 0
  o.VBorderPercent = 0
  o.Alphabet = 28 ' 28=IMB
    
  o.Text = BarcodeID & ServiceID & MailerID & Serial & RoutingCode
  If o.Error Then
    MsgBox o.ErrorDescription
  End If
End Sub

Press F5 to run the code.