Standalone SVG Barcode Export

Standalone SVG Barcode Export

SvgBarcodeRenderer exports QR Code, DataMatrix, and Aztec Code barcodes as self-contained SVG strings - no PDF document is involved. This is useful when the same application needs to display a barcode on screen (or in an <img> tag) and also embed it in a PDF, without depending on a second barcode library.

Basic usage

use DragonOfMercy\PhpPdf\Barcode\QrCode;
use DragonOfMercy\PhpPdf\Barcode\Svg\SvgBarcodeRenderer;

// Render as an SVG string.
$svg = (new SvgBarcodeRenderer())->render(QrCode::of('https://example.com'), 200, 200);
// Returns: "<svg xmlns='...' width='200' height='200' viewBox='0 0 N N'>...</svg>"

// Base64 data URI for inline <img src="..."> usage.
$uri = SvgBarcodeRenderer::renderDataUri(QrCode::of('https://example.com'), 200, 200);

// Without the white background rectangle (e.g. over a non-white canvas).
$svg = (new SvgBarcodeRenderer())->withoutBackground()->render($code, 200, 200);

API reference

Constructor

new SvgBarcodeRenderer(bool $background = true)

Creates a renderer. When $background is true (the default), a white <rect> is emitted behind the modules to guarantee contrast on any background.

Instance methods

Method	Returns	Description
->render(Barcode $barcode, int $width, int $height): string	string	Encodes the barcode and returns a complete SVG document. $width and $height are the pixel dimensions of the <svg> element.
->withoutBackground(): self	SvgBarcodeRenderer	Returns a new instance that omits the background rectangle.

Static methods

Method	Returns	Description
SvgBarcodeRenderer::renderDataUri(Barcode $barcode, int $width, int $height): string	string	Convenience wrapper: renders and returns data:image/svg+xml;base64,.... Always includes the white background.

Supported and unsupported formats

Format	Supported
QR Code	Yes
DataMatrix	Yes
Aztec Code	Yes
Code 128, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, Code 39, Code 93, ITF	No - throws PdfException
PDF417	No - throws PdfException

1D codes and PDF417 are not supported because their human-text layouts and bearer bars require PDF text metrics. Use Page::barcode() to render them into a PDF.

Foreground color and viewBox

Foreground color is taken from the barcode value object: call ->withColor(Color $c) on the barcode before passing it to the renderer.

use DragonOfMercy\PhpPdf\Color;
use DragonOfMercy\PhpPdf\Barcode\DataMatrix;
use DragonOfMercy\PhpPdf\Barcode\Svg\SvgBarcodeRenderer;

$code = DataMatrix::of('INV-2026-001')->withColor(Color::hex('#1a3c6e'));
$svg  = (new SvgBarcodeRenderer())->render($code, 150, 150);

The SVG uses viewBox in module units (quiet zone included), with the requested width and height attributes as pixel dimensions. The matrix scales responsively while remaining square.

See also

• Barcodes and QR Codes
• SVG Support
• Images