PostNet

Feb 18, 2026
2 minutes to read

PostNet was developed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) for faster mail sorting and routing. Unlike most other bar codes where data is encoded in the width of the bars and spaces, PostNet encodes data in the height of the bars. PostNet bars have the same width but different heights.

Refer to the following topic for more details: Postnet.

Add the Bar Code to a Report

Drag the XRBarCode item from the DX.25.2: Report Controls tab and drop it onto the report.
Set the XRBarCode control’s Symbology property to PostNet (an object of the PostNetGenerator type).
Specify common barcode properties.

Runtime Example

The following code creates the PostNet barcode and specifies its properties.

View Example: How to add a bar code to a report

Form1.cs
Form1.vb

csharp

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
// ...
public XRBarCode CreatePostNetBarCode(string BarCodeText) {
    // Create a barcode control.
    XRBarCode barCode = new XRBarCode();

    // Set the barcode's type to PostNet.
    barCode.Symbology = new PostNetGenerator();

    // Adjust the barcode's main properties.
    barCode.Text = BarCodeText;
    barCode.Width = 400;
    barCode.Height = 100;

    return barCode;
}

Imports System
Imports System.Collections.Generic
Imports System.Drawing.Printing
Imports System.Windows.Forms
Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
' ...
Public Function CreatePostNetBarCode(ByVal BarCodeText As String) As XRBarCode
    ' Create a barcode control.
    Dim barCode As New XRBarCode()

    ' Set the barcode's type to PostNet.
    barCode.Symbology = New PostNetGenerator()

    ' Adjust the barcode's main properties.
    barCode.Text = BarCodeText
    barCode.Width = 400
    barCode.Height = 100

    Return barCode
End Function

The code example below shows how to create a report with the PostNet barcode:

C#
VB.NET

csharp

using DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode;
using DevExpress.XtraReports.UI;
//...

var barCode = CreatePostNetBarCode("012345678");

var report = new XtraReport() {
    Bands = {
        new DetailBand() {
            Controls = { barCode }
        }
    }
};

Imports DevExpress.XtraPrinting.BarCode
Imports DevExpress.XtraReports.UI
'...

Private barCode = CreatePostNetBarCode("012345678")

Dim report As New XtraReport()
Dim band = New DetailBand()
band.Controls.Add(barCode)