This post comes after trying to isolate the problem of why a bar code using UPCa font, when printed from a viewer (CRVS, vb.NET, SP12) fails to scan properly. Same report printed from Crystal Report Designer scans fine. At first I thought it was the usual "difference in rendering between Designer (C++) and Runtime (.NET) but that doesn't explain why when using the SAP Crystal Viewer, a 3rd behavior manifests.
Please visit this link to see an image with commented comparisons of the on-screen rendering showing 3 behaviors: 2015-01-30_1754 - IdoMillet's library
And here is an image showing the printed outputs of the 3 scenarios: http://screencast.com/t/kFPHSVkr
If the answer comes back again that this is a known issue but the Development Team can't fix it due to the fear of breaking backwards compatibility, then here's a piece of my mind:
1. Not being able to scan barcode printouts is a show stopper!
2. Please ask the SAP development team to offer a runtime option (new property or registry setting) that allows opting into a new mode that provides better font rendering. This way, the fear of breaking something can stop paralyzing the SAP development team when it comes to this frustrating problem.