When a report is exported to a PDF document using the Export functionality provided by the Crystal Reports (available from version X and above), the Data Matrix barcodes embedded in the report become unreadable. As illustrated below, the clear dark/white elements are expanded to dark blobs.
Note
The problem described in this KB article does not appear in DataMatrix Font & Encoder 5 and higher versions. Version 3.20 and above has the font included in the installer. No separate download is required.
 |
 |
| Barcode viewed in the Crystal Viewer | Barcode viewed in the exported PDF |
The problem occurs when you export the report to a PDF document using the export functionality provided by the Crystal Reports. This problem does not appear when the PDF document is created by other means, such as by printing the report to a PDF printer driver such as Distiller or PDF writer.
The PDF engine that the Crystal Reports employs calculates the line height incorrectly. It assumes that the line height matches the point size given. Normally this miscalculation does not affect the appearance of text paragraphs. The Morovia DataMatrix font is designed to produce smaller barcodes under normal point sizes (10, 12 etc.) and it requires that the render engine calculates the line height correctly.
Morovia has designed a new font, MRV DataMatrixR1, which matches the assumptions.
The font is attached with this article. Download the zip file and extract the ttf file to
the DataMatrix product folder. Register the font through the fonts applet in the control panel.
Modify the report to use the new font.
Because the character height has to match the exact point size in the new font, the barcode produced appear fairly big at normal points. To reduce the barcode size, change the point size to somewhere between 2 and 6.
The font is included in the software and installed by default.