Pharmacode Generator
Create Laetus Pharmacode marks for pharmaceutical packaging.
What is Pharmacode?
Pharmacode, also known as the Laetus code, is a mark used on pharmaceutical packaging for print control. It is unusual: it encodes a single number, has no human-readable text, no check digit, and no fixed length — the pattern of thick and thin bars is the number. It is designed to be read reliably by inline equipment at speed, even printed in colours and orientations that would defeat other symbologies.
The number range
Pharmacode encodes whole numbers from 3 to 131070. That is the whole specification for its data: below 3 or above 131070 there is no valid symbol, and the tool refuses with the exact range rather than printing something that will fail on the line.
Reading direction matters
Because a Pharmacode carries no start or stop pattern, it can legitimately be read in either direction and produce two different valid numbers. Packaging lines resolve this by fixing the orientation on the artwork. Decide the orientation with your packaging engineer before the plates are made.
Where it appears
Folding cartons, leaflets and labels for medicines — usually tucked in a corner, often in a colour that matches the pack. Its job is to let the packaging line confirm that the right leaflet went into the right carton, not to identify the product to a shop.
Printing
Follow the bar width and height your line's sensor expects; those tolerances come from your equipment supplier, not from a generic guide. Because there is no check digit, a printing defect can turn one valid code into another valid code, which is exactly why line sensors are calibrated and validated.
Limitations
One number, no text, no checksum, no error detection. Pharmacode complements a product barcode — it never replaces one.
Frequently asked questions
Why is there no text under the bars?
Pharmacode is a machine-only control mark. Human-readable text is not part of the specification.
What numbers can it encode?
Whole numbers from 3 to 131070. Anything outside that has no valid symbol.
Does it have a check digit?
No. Error detection is handled by the packaging line, which is why sensor calibration matters so much.
Can it be read upside down?
It can be read from either end and give a different valid number, so the orientation must be fixed in your artwork.
Curious how we build and check these codes? Read our methodology, and the disclaimer on what a generated barcode image is and is not.