treepoem

3.28.0 · active · verified Sat Apr 11

treepoem is a Python library (current version 3.28.0) for rendering various barcode types including QR code, Aztec, PDF417, I25, Code128, and Code39. It acts as a wrapper around the open-source BWIPP PostScript barcode library and utilizes the Ghostscript command-line tool for rendering. The library is actively maintained and typically sees frequent updates to its vendored BWIPP component.

Warnings

gotcha Older Ghostscript versions (e.g., 9.22+) may produce smeared barcode images. While a fix was merged in Ghostscript 9.26, some smearing might still occur with certain barcodes.
Fix: Ensure Ghostscript version 9.26 or newer is installed. Check your Ghostscript version with `gs --version`.
gotcha treepoem relies on an external Ghostscript installation, which is a non-Python dependency. This can complicate deployment in environments where installing system-level packages is restricted (e.g., some serverless functions, shared hosting).
Fix: Verify that Ghostscript can be installed and is accessible in your target deployment environment. Consider containerization (e.g., Docker) to manage external dependencies.
gotcha Generating multiple barcodes in a tight loop can be slow because treepoem re-initializes and reopens the Ghostscript subprocess for each call to `generate_barcode()`.
Fix: For applications requiring high-volume barcode generation, explore alternatives that can keep the Ghostscript process alive or use a different rendering approach if performance is critical.

Install

pip install treepoem Install Python package
sudo apt-get install ghostscript Install Ghostscript (Debian/Ubuntu)
brew install ghostscript Install Ghostscript (macOS)

Imports

generate_barcode
```
from treepoem import generate_barcode
```
ImageOps
```
from PIL import ImageOps
```
Commonly used with treepoem for image manipulation, like adding borders.

Quickstart

This quickstart generates a QR code from a URL, adds a 10-pixel white border, and saves it as a monochrome PNG file named 'barcode.png'. The `ImageOps.expand` and `image.convert("1")` steps are common for preparing the output image.

import treepoem
from PIL import ImageOps

# Generate a QR code barcode
image = treepoem.generate_barcode(
    barcode_type="qrcode",
    data="https://www.example.com"
)

# Add a white border and save as a monochrome PNG
image = ImageOps.expand(image, border=10, fill="white")
image.convert("1").save("barcode.png")
print("Generated barcode.png")

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