Printing plate for linear bar symbol code

Claim 1

A printing plate for printing a symbol code on a corrugated paperboard material comprising: a body portion; a series of raised, spaced parallel bar members integral with said body portion, said bar members corresponding in size and spacing to the size and spacing of the linear bars of the symbol code and including an approximately centrally located field separation pattern to enable two half-scans of the code; and a continuous substantially rectangular peripheral frame member integral with said body portion and disposed entirely around said bar members, said frame including opposed pairs of end and side members, said end members of said frame being generally parallel to and spaced away from the longitudinal edges of the first and last bar members in the series, the side members of said frame being unitary with and generally perpendicular to the opposite end edges of each said bar member, said side members and end members of said frame enclosing a central channel for receiving the bar members, said side members having portions of reduced width adjacent each said end member such that the central channel enclosed by said side members and end members comprises a central, substantially rectangular aperture for receiving the bar members and a pair of end apertures flared outwardly from said rectangular aperture a sufficient amount to enable the symbol code to be scanned by two angled half-scans, with each said half-scan incorporating at least one-half of said symbol code plus the field separation pattern, said frame being raised from the surface of the body portion the same distance as the bar members such that the printing contact surface of said frame member is flush with the printing contact surfaces of the bar members, said frame member constituting the major portion of the printing contact surface of the printing plate.