The first digit of a UPC-A Barcode is number system character. The following table shows you what different number system characters mean
0: Standard UPC number
1: Reserved
2: Random weight items (fruits, meat, vegetables, etc.
3: Pharmaceuticals
4: In store marketing for retailers (a store can set up unique barcodes for themselves, but no other store will be able to read them)
5: Coupons
6, 7 Standard UPC number
8: Reserved
9: Reserved
This tutorial was written to help you understand the differences between UPC Barcodes and EAN Barcodes. Below are both an EAN barcode and a UPC Barcode. The EAN contains a 13 digit number and the UPC contains a 12 digit number.
EAN = 0012345678905
UPC = (0)012345678905 or 012345678905
The GS1, the original source for barcodes has created the confusion between UPC (Universal Product Codes) and EAN (European Article Numbers also called International Article Numbers). The UPC-A barcode was the original format for product barcodes. As demand in Europe, Asia and Australia started growing, country codes were added. US and Canada have a a country code of zero which is not printed under the barcode nor is it entered in US and Canadian Inventory and Point of Sale Databases.
If you look at the graphics above, you will see they are exactly the same. The width of the bars and the width of the spaces between the bars are exactly the same. The only major difference is the placement of the numbers below (human readable numbers) which are there only as a back-up in case the barcode doesn’t scan properly and the information has to be manually entered into the point of sale system.
Taking this a step further, we have overlaid the UPC and the EAN graphics (symbologies) so you can see that the graphic is identical. The country code doesn’t appear beneath the barcode in a UPC since the GS1 didn’t grasp the importance of US andCanadaindicating country codes. They felt that since the majority of products sold in both countries originate from importers, distributors or manufacturers in theUSorCanada, they could forego the leading zero in the human readable numbers.
We still believe that if you are currently doing business in theUnited StatesandCanadaexclusively, it is safer to order UPC barcodes for your products. Many retailers, especially smaller retailers may be using older accounting and inventory systems that only allow them to enter in 12 digit UPC numbers and not a 13 digit string. If this changes in the future, you can convert your 12 digit UPC to a 13 digit EAN by adding in the country code 0. There is nothing on the horizon indicating that theUSandCanadawill ever switch over to EAN 13 barcodes.
This following information is used with permission from George Laurer– http://www.laurerupc.com . Mr. Laurer is the inventor of the UPC barcode.
There seems to be considerable confusion concerning the difference and use of the U.P.C. code and EAN codes
“U.P.C. Version A” and “EAN-13” are and always have been 13 character symbols and the numbers themselves have always been 13 characters long. The U.P.C. (Version A) symbol and the EAN13 symbol are essentially one and the same. They both have the same number of bars and spaces.
* I have used the name UCC throughout to avoid confusion although it evolved to this name over many years. In 1975 it was called UPCC (Uniform Product Code Council).
When I conceived the U.P.C. for the grocers in theU.S.only 12 digits were required including the check character. I designed a symbol in which the left half of the symbol was composed of “odd” parity characters and the right side was composed of “even” parity characters. Each printed character has two bars and two spaces and is made up of 7 modules. Odd parity simply means the printed representation of the numeric digit has an odd number of dark modules. Conversely even parity printed digits have an even number of dark modules.
The UCC* chose to call the U.P.C. a 10 character symbol and they chose to print only 11 of the characters in human readable form. The 10 characters identifying the manufacturer and item were printed below the bars. The “system number” character was printed halfway up the left side. Further, they chose to carry only 10 digits of the number in their files. The reason was both political and practical.
Before the symbol marking was considered a well know consulting firm had been hired by the fledgling UCC to determine the number of digits needed to accomplish the goals of the grocery industry. Considering many factors, not the least of which was the limited power of computers of the day, a figure of 10 digits was recommended. It was a tough sell to convince the many groups involved that they would have to change whatever numbering system they were using to the new 10 digit number. Rather than admit that the consulting firm was wrong and so as not to open the number of digit argument again, the decision was to maintain that the U.P.C. was a 10 digit symbol and number. Another factor considered was that it was more difficult to key the EAN human readable that the U.P.C. human readable when the symbol did not scan. They fostered the illusion by requiring that the check digit be stripped at the scanner. The SN (system number) was necessary for in store processing but it was not needed in records transferred between systems. The illusion was reinforced by not printing the SN in line with the 10 product identifying digits and not printing the check digit at all.
After the U.P.C. had been in use several years, Europerecognized the usefulness of the U.P.C. but realized a 13th digit was needed to identify the many countries. I encoded the extra digit by encoding the left half of the symbol with 3 characters of even parity and 3 characters of odd parity and then arranging them in various patterns, each pattern representing a different country code. The scanner recognizes a series of digits as the right half of a symbol if the parity of the characters is all even and it recognizes the left half if it is composed of all odd OR if three characters are odd parity and three characters are even parity characters.
With the acceptance of the EAN in Europe it was understood that the U.P.C. was actually 13 digits because the parity pattern of the left half of all odd characters was assigned the value (or country flag) of “0”. I pointed out that the UCC only printed 11 of the 13 digits and carried only 10 digits in the system. The UCC continued the delusion by using the foolish argument that “0″ means nothing and therefore could be ignored. On the other hand, the European’s were smart enough from the very outset to call the EAN symbol what it is, “EAN-13” and they printed all 13 characters. Systems inEuropecarried all 10 country flags including 0 in their records and their systems could process both U.P.C. and EAN symbols and/or numbers. TheU.S.groceries chains at the time were selling very few foreign goods and saw no reason to spend money modify their installed equipment. Although the U.P.C. was not widely accepted at that time, the UCC accommodated the foreign companies by issuing them U.P.C. numbers with the invisible country flag of “0”.
Although this was a burden on the European companies and was a waste of numbers since many European companies had both U.P.C. and EAN-13 numbers, it wasn’t until two decades later that something was done about this. In 1997 the Uniform Code Council, Inc announced project SUNRISE. This initiative required that all U.S. and Canadian companies must be capable of scanning and processing EAN-13 symbols, in addition to U.P.C. symbols, at point-of-sale by January1, 2005. This has been completed, the UCC has changed its name to GS1 US, and they have taken the responsibility of controlling both U.P.C. and EAN numbers.
Simply put the U.P.C. and EAN-13 symbols and numbers are the same. Below is a U.P.C. symbol with its equivalent EAN-13 superimposed in red. One can see that the bars and space are the same, only the human readable is different. Note that the U.P.C. has evolved in that the check digit is now printed and also that the SN has been brought down in line with the other characters but the country flag is still not printed. I would expect that in the near future the human readable will also be changed to the EAN format.
Because there are more than 9 countries, the country flags have been further subdivided by using the next two digits for various uses and countries. TheUnited StatesandCanadahave the country flag 0 and subdivisions 000 thru 139. It is interesting to note that the publishing industry produces so many products that it is its own country called “Bookland” for number assignment purposes. Bookland has been given two subdivisions of the country flag 9. They are 978 and 979.
–end of article by George Laurer.
This viral email has been going around for a couple of years that is mainly untrue. The email says that you can tell where a product has been manufactured by the UPC or EAN barcode. This tutorial will help you understand how to read a barcode.
Bar Codes – Where Products Come From
If it starts with a 0 – 9 it is from USA or Canada. Read on down for the other countries codes. Very helpful information. I checked the cans and cereal in the cupboard and they all started with 0 – 9. This makes it very easy.
HOW TO READ BAR CODES…(very good to know)
I am going to watch those bar codes a LOT more now… I am busy reading the ingredients..
Boy.. shopping is a full time job!!!
ALWAYS READ THE LABELS ON THE PRODUCTS YOU BUY–NO MATTER WHAT THE FRONT OF THE BOX OR PACKAGE SAYS, TURN IT OVER AND READ THE BACK—CAREFULLY!
With all the food and other products now coming from China, it is best to make sure you read label at the store and especially Walmart when buying food or other products.
Many products no longer show where they were made, only give where the distributor is located. It is important to read the bar code to track it’s origin.
How to read Bar Codes …. interesting!
This may be useful to know when grocery shopping, if it’s a concern to you.
GREAT WAY TO “BUY USA & CANADA AND NOT FROM CHINA!!
The whole world is concerned about China-made “black hearted goods”. Can you differentiate which one is made in Taiwan or China ?
If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690, 691 or 692, the product is MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan .
This is our right to know, but the government and related departments never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves.
Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products “MADE IN CHINA “, so they don’t show from which country it is made.
However, you may now refer to the barcode – remember if the first 3 digits are:
690-692 … then it is MADE IN CHINA
00 – 09 … USA & CANADA
30 – 37 FRANCE
40 – 44 GERMANY
471 … Taiwan
49 … JAPAN
50 … UK
BUY USA & CANADIAN MADE by watching for “0″ at the beginning of the number.
We need every boost we can get! Pass this on to everybody on your E-Mail Contact List!!
If the government won’t help us, we MUST help ourselves.
The Real Story….
EAN and UPC Barcodes all originate from the GS1.
Whether you purchase a barcode prefix from the GS1 or purchase a barcode from a company like Nationwide Barcode, the barcode will indicate the country where the prefix originated regardless of where that company has their products manufactured.
The GS1 is a corporation, they are not a government agency. The GS1 originated in the US and are now in every major country in the world.
All UPC-A barcodes (12 digit barcodes) originate from either the US or Canada and do not show the country code in the human readable numbers (the numbers below the barcode). If it’s a 12 digit number, its a UPC Barcode and the company received their barcode prefix or barcode number either in the US or in Canada.
UPC Barcodes numbers look like this:
X XXXXX YYYYY Z
X XXXXX XYYYY Z
X XXXXX XXYYY Z
X XXXXX XXXYY Z
The Xs represent the prefix that the company received from the GS1. If a company purchases a barcode from a company like Nationwide Barcode or another barcode subdivider, that company owns the prefix.
The Ys are left up to the owner of the barcode prefix to generate at their discretion.
In the first example YYYYY can be 00000 through 99999. Once they run out of barcode numbers, they need to get another prefix and start over with that one.
The majority of POS systems (Point of Sale – Electronic Cash Registers) in the US and Canda can only read UPC numbers. They are not set up to read EAN numbers that are used in the rest of the world. Products that are sold in Europe, Australia, Asia or other parts of the world are usually imported by an American or Canadian company, are private labeled or relabeled and include a UPC barcode.
Elsewhere in the world, EAN barcodes are used. Originally used in Europe, EAN originally was an abbreviation for ‘European Article Number’ after EAN barcodes started being used in other countries it now stands for ‘International Article Number’
Using the same example as above, a British company selling products in any countries excluding US and Canada will have barcodes that look like this
5 0XXXXX YYYYYZ
5 0XXXXX XYYYYZ
5 0XXXXX XXYYYZ
5 0XXXXX XXXYYZ
The best way to determine whether or not something is made in the United States or Canada is to look at the packaging for an indication of where the product was made, visit the American Business First Website or to contact the manufacturer.
For the entire list of Country Codes and to learn more about Barcode UPC and EAN, read or download a free copy of Barcodes Demystified here: http://www.nationwidebarcode.com/Barcodes-Demystified/
Looking to buy a barcode? Want to learn how barcodes work and how they help you get your product to market? Watch our informative video about EAN and UPC barcodes.
Message from founder and President, Phil Peretz
We appreciate our clients and hope that you will consider us for all of your EAN and UPC barcode needs. We want to make the purchase and ownership of UPC Barcodes and EAN Barcodes to be easy as possible for businesses of all sizes.
We pride ourselves on being the most trusted and preferred vendor for barcodes anywhere. We provide 100% legal bar codes to businesses worldwide and whether you need 1 barcode for a single product to be sold at a local retailer, a batch for all of your products to be sold nationwide at stores like Whole Foods, Lowes, Costco, Fryes Electronics or other chain stores or you need thousands of barcodes for selling on Amazon, Google Merchant or other internet website we will treat you like a VIP.
There is a lot of information on the internet about barcodes…some of it is fact and some of it is misleading. We take a no-nonsense approach to business and pride ourselves on working with you every step of the way. Don’t be fooled by the so-called official sites or “recommended by the Washington Post” guys….next to the GS1, we are the largest providers of UPC barcodes all with 100% customer satisfaction. We guarantee that our numbers have never been previously used nor recycled. When you buy from us, these numbers belong to you and become an asset of your organization.
In addition to top-notch service, we also send you a link to download a copy of my eBook, Barcodes Demystified(tm) with every order to make this a painless process….and we provide free phone and email technical support.
We have a video that we have produced that is a very comprehensive tutorial. You can find this video on our home page toward the bottom of the page.
We are commerce, SEO, marketing, graphics and merchandising professionals. Our sister company is Media Media Inc, a long standing member Visual Media Alliance and Printing Industries of America. We know how important it is to get high quality graphics, guaranteed unique barcode numbers and an attention to detail not found anywhere else.
We also know that you need these quickly, so we have automated our site allowing you to get your barcodes within seconds of placing your order.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call our sales department or e-mail us directly at info@nationwidebarcode.com
Periodically we do a search to see what our competitors are doing and we chuckle at the assortment of nonsense in the marketplace. There are people touting that they are the official source or official site. There is one fellow who tells people to be wary of low prices. There is one that says, “Avoid Shady Imitators.” Our marketing strategy is to lead with knowledge…not to diminish our competitors with their weaknesses. They do a great job of doing that without our help. If you want to check out a list of barcode resellers ‘who’s who’ - http://www.nationwidebarcode.com/about/comparing-barcode-providers/
There are two classes of businesses that sell barcodes. Those that obtained their prefix prior to August of 2002 and those that haven’t. The ones who obtained prefixes prior to this date can sell or subdivide their barcode prefixes. There are only a couple of businesses that are violating their agreement with the GS1 (where all barcodes originate) and they can be found here: http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/UPC/index.html
We fall within the first class. We legally and professionally do what we do….and we do it really well.
Nationwide Barcode is in the business of selling barcodes. We do have another business which focuses on new business development, marketing and promotion. We help people and companies get better at what they do. For us, our business is working with people in business. It’s not Horse Chiropractic, selling fishing bobbers or other unreleated diversion. Our focus is helping people market themselves or their products…and a barcode is a very important part of that.
We are listed on Mr. George Laurer’s Website as being a legitimate reseller, we are the preferred vendor of choice a ton of clients but most notably, Pandora. Pandora is the world’s largest internet radio company that dovetails with Amazon.
We have thousands and thousands of repeat customers throughout the world equally divided between small to mid size manufacturing companies, independent musicians and Amazon resellers. We obtained all of our prefixes prior to that August 2002 date, we’re part of a grandfathered program with the GS1 which insures that can do what we do and we don’t pay renewal fees. Since we do not pay renewal fees, neither do you.
Our business is based on providing barcodes at a very affordable price. We can afford to be the lowest in price because of simple supply and demand.
We have a very large supply and there is a high demand. Since we have a high demand, we can afford to be the least expensive in the industry. We want to make a lot of money but our strategy is to make money based on the volume of barcodes sold…not from one customer.
In addition, we base our business on great customer service and knowledge. This knowledge is not just about barcodes but about retail and wholesale process management. We know how barcodes work, we understand graphic design and label manufacturing and wholesale and retail process flows. We are members of Printing Industry of America, Visual Media Alliance and several Amazon groups that allow us to stay informed of upcoming changes in the industry.
Our goal is to be the ‘last man standing’ in this industry. The majority of our competition only has one barcode prefix, they are attempting to turn a quick buck from this asset. This means, when they sell out, they’ll disappear. Your barcodes will continue to be good, but if you need support, you lose your certificate of authenticity and need help, they will be gone. When you need support a year or two or five years from now, we’ll be here.
With our reserve of almost two million barcodes, we will be around for a long, long time…plus with our secondary business of ‘new business development’, we’re not that hard to find. Our business is helping you. It’s what we do.
If you are looking for guaranteed unique barcode numbers, our fair but firm policy makes the most sense for you. Because of our integrity and unique business proposition, you are safer buying barcode numbers from Nationwide Barcode than from any other reseller.
1. We guarantee 100% that our numbers are unique. If we had to refund you, we would lock these numbers out of our database. We would refund your money if there were duplicated numbers or if the numbers were ‘no good.’
With over a million barcodes in our pool, we have never had to refund anyone.
We are careful. We know that doing it right thing the first time is important.
2. Our customers are smart.
You know what you are doing and if you don’t, you are smart enough to know to call and ask questions so we can help coach you in this labyrinth of barcodes.
3. We do not take barcodes back ever. We do not take a barcode that we issued to one person and put it back into our database. We do not have a 1-day, 5-day, 7-day or 30-day buyback policy. We cannot take this chance. Since our customers are smart (see #2) this will not be an issue.
This is a potential issue with the majority of our competitors. Since they cannot compete against us with experience, knowledge of the industry nor price, they create Return Policies to make you feel good about doing business with them. A guarantee is good (If you have a problem with a number, we’ll give you your money back), a return policy creates a pool of ‘used’ barcodes. We don’t do that.
We value all of our customers and want to make sure everything goes perfect. That’s our commitment.
There are two components to a barcode graphic. The barcode graphic and the number beneath the bars.
EAN = 0012345678905
UPC = (0)012345678905 or 012345678905
The GS1, the original source for barcodes has created the confusion between UPC (Universal Product Codes) and EAN (European Article Numbers also called International Article Numbers). The UPC-A barcode was the original format for product barcodes. As demand in Europe, Asia and Australia started growing, country codes were added. (We have a list of country codes on this site). US and Canada have a a country code of zero which is not printed under the barcode nor is it entered in US and Canadian Inventory and Point of Sale Databases.
If you look at the graphics above, you will see they are exactly the same. The width of the bars and the width of the spaces between the bars are exactly the same. The only major difference is the placement of the numbers below (human readable numbers) which are there only as a back-up in case the barcode doesn’t scan properly and the information has to be manually entered into the point of sale system
Taking this a step further, we have overlaid the UPC and the EAN graphics (symbologies) so you can see that the graphic is identical. The country code doesn’t appear beneath the barcode in a UPC since the GS1 didn’t grasp the importance of US and Canada indicating country codes. They felt that since the majority of products sold in both countries originate from importers, distributors or manufacturers in the US or Canada, they could forego the leading zero in the human readable numbers.
We still believe that if you are currently doing business in the United States and Canada exclusively, it is safer to order UPC barcodes for your products. Many retailers, especially smaller retailers may be using older accounting and inventory systems that only allow them to enter in 12 digit UPC numbers and not a 13 digit string. If this changes in the future, you can convert your 12 digit UPC to a 13 digit EAN by adding in the country code 0. There is nothing on the horizon indicating that the US and Canada will ever switch over to EAN 13 barcodes.
Other countries are able to scan and read UPC barcodes.
You decide to go into business manufacturing, importing or wholesaling products.
You’ve manufactured or ordered your products and you realize that you need a barcode. Barcodes are used to convey prices to the electronic cash registers in stores and are also used to help manage inventory. You will need a barcode for each product or variation of product that you sell. If you are selling t-shirts, you will need one for each design, color and size.
You come to Nationwide Barcode and you order barcodes for all of your products. If you are planning on selling to Walmart, Kroger’s, Macy’s or other stores that tie the barcode prefix into EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) you will need to get your barcodes directly from the GS1.
Nationwide Barcode e-mails your barcodes lightening fast…plus our eBook ‘Barcodes DeMystified’, phone or e-mail support, resources for label printing and 15% off on all of your business printing needs. (Wow!)
You either include the barcode graphic as part of your packaging design or (if it’s already done) get barcode labels. We’ll get you great prices from our friends at Pacific Barcode. They are fast, too.
Congratulations…you are now ready for business and can start selling your products to stores (If you are planning on selling to Walmart or Kroger’s, they are going to require that you spend the big money and get your own prefix directly from the GS1. Most other stores are perfectly fine with barcodes from Nationwide Barcode. We have sold clients selling to Amazon, Lowes, Staples, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Office Max and Target)
You are ready to wholesale your products to stores…you knock on doors, make phone calls and convince them that you have something that their customers want. They agree!
You supply the stores with a list of your products, product details and the UPC/EAN number for each item. There is nothing embedded in a UPC or EAN barcode except for the numbers that are beneath the barcode. When they enter the info into their database, the numbers are associated with your product. When a barcode scanner scans the barcode, it turns the bars back into numbers and looks for the item associated with it.
The information that you have supplied gets entered into the computer that connects all of their POS systems (electronic cash registers). All of this is done at store level because there is no accurate and complete database of products, and if there was, it could potentially carry 10,000,000,000 items. That’s too much data for local stores to access, so, all stores only concern themselves with their inventory.
Your products are delivered to the retailer and once received into inventory and are now available for purchase.
A customer picks up the item and heads to the checkstand.
The item is scanned and the point of sale system (cash register) requests information about the product from the database. Once purchased, the Point of Sales system tells the database to subtract the number of items purchased.
The customer pays for the item and the transaction is complete.
We get this question often from our clients at Nationwide Barcode: http://www.nationwidebarcode.com
There are no formal comprehensive regional or world-wide database. Sites like www.upcdatainfo.com and www.upcdatabase.com are hobbyist sites that are really well done but contain a small fraction of barcodes and products.
The true registration process is less formal than what people anticipate and is strictly between you and your retailers. When people purchase EAN or UPC barcodes from us, we provide a transfer of ownership (and certificate of authenticity) for the single or block of barcodes. We also send along an excel spreadsheet containing all of the numbers to make it easier to track which barcode goes with each of your products.
Then, we you are about to launch a new product and sell it into stores, you assign one of the barcode numbers to the product and then convey that product to your retailer. If you are selling products that have variations (size, design, style, quantity, etc.), you will need to assign a different barcode number to each one of these items.
The retailer then inputs this into their inventory management system which is tied to their electronic point of sale systems.
The way it works is:
1. You tell the retailer about the product that is going into their store (description, price, barcode number)
2. The retailer enters the information into their database along with the starting inventory and usually the quantity where they plan on reordering your item(s).
3. Then, they sell the item…customer picks up the item in the store, takes it to the check stand, the item is scanned and the ‘cash register’ sends a query to the database. The database sends the item and pricing information to the ‘cash register’. At the same time the ‘cash register’ tells the database to remove the items purchased from inventory
Every retailer from your local hardware store to Amazon has their own ‘closed’ system. In a way, everyone recreates the wheel.
Between UPC numbers (US and Canada) and EAN numbers (Europe, Australia, South America, Africa), there is the potential to have 100 Billion different numbers that can be used for barcodes. (Not every series is used and some of the number series are reserved for internal use of coupons, but it’s still a massive number) Nobody wants to manage a database this large, so, everyone creates their own system that is relevant to their inventory.
There are some interlinking systems. Google Merchant, Amazon and a couple others that help populate smart-phone UPC/EAN barcode readers like Red Laser, Shop Savvy, etc.
For musicians and video producers, Soundscan is an optional registration process that makes sense if you are producing large numbers of CDs or DVDs
We get a lot of questions from clients about barcodes and if you can tell where something is manufactured.
Barcode prefixes do not provide identification of origin for a specific product. They merely provide number capacity to different countries for assignment of barcode prefixes by the GS1.
UPC Barcodes do not show the leading zero. A UPC Barcode that starts with 7 would have a country code of 070 – 079.
Here is the current list of country codes
Prefix 950 (GS1 Global Office) is used for special applications and bi-lateral agreements.
This informative video will explain how barcodes work. Please feel free to contact us if you have any additional questions.
No. The bar code bars represent only the number below. There is no other information contained within the bar code. All information is supplied to you to the wholesaler or retailer.
A barcode is a graphical representation of the numbers below the graphic. UPC and EAN barcodes rely on data being entered into the retailers database. The 12 digit UPC or 13 digit EAN number is associated with the product name, specifications and selling price. When a barcode is scanned, a query is sent to the database and the response is the information about the product.
The majority of retailers throughout the world will accept UPC or EAN Barcodes from a third party provider like Nationwide Barcode.
The exceptions are some of the major retailers like Krogers and Walmart. These retailers require that you provide certificates directly from GS1.
We have heard that Walgreen’s and Macy’s also asks for the barcode certificate but may optionally input the UPC number of each product.
It is your responsibility to ask your retailers if they will accept UPC or an EAN numbers from a company that subdivides barcodes.
UPC and EAN Barcodes are used for both conveying pricing information to the Point of Sale Systems in stores (electronic cash registers) and maintaining inventory for the retailer.
You need as many barcodes as you have products or variations of products.
If you are selling shoes, you would need one unique barcode for each style, color and size.
If you are selling soft drinks, you would need one for the 12 oz. can, the 12 oz. bottle, the six or twelve-packs, and the liters of each flavor.
Every variation of a product needs a unique barcode.
If you only have one product and you are manufacturing one or 1,000,000 – each piece will have the same barcode number.
When you sell your products to a wholesaler or retailer (Amazon, Target, Borders Books, Autozone, etc.), they will have you supply them or will have you fill out a product information sheet.
The things that you put on that sheet is your company and product information including the UPC/EAN code number for each product.
Then, the wholesaler or retailer enters this information in their information systems computer. This computer ties into the registers at the front of the store. The cashier scans your item and the information comes up. Every time an item is scanned and sold, it deducts the number of items sold from their inventory.
A UPC bar code also known as a Universal Product Code is a unique 12-digit code that allows wholesalers and retailers to track the sales of your product.
This allows them to manage inventory and to sell your products at their Point of Sales Systems (cash registers)
The bars on a barcode are merely a graphical representation of the numbers below the barcode.
A Shipping Container Barcode is used on the outside of our master cartons and recommended or required by many mid-to large retailers who are automating their incoming inventory processes The UPC Shipping Container Symbol (SCS) is very similar to the Universal Product Code. This symbology is called interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF).
The major difference between this barcode and a UPC barcode is the lines at the top and bottom of the barcode. These are called Bearer Bars. The Barcode is comprised of 4 groups.
1) – Packaging Indicator. We recommend that you assign a number ranging from 1 to 7 for the first digit. If you have a container that has 12 and another container that has 36, you assign different numbers to each. This is very flexible.
2) The next number is a ZERO. This is required.
3) The next 11 digits are the first 11 digits from the UPC barcode used for the item inside.
4) The final (14th digit) is a check digit.
We can create the graphics for you inexpensively and quickly: http://nationwidebarcode.com/other-services/shipping-container-barcodes/
The coupon code starts with a 5 to indicate that it is a coupon, then the next 5 numbers are positions two through six of the company prefix, the next three digits are the family code. These are assigned by the manufacturer to group products within a family of products. A family would be shoes – all sizes or colors, Vitamin Water (different flavors), etc. The next two numbers are the value code. In the case of the example here, 01 means buy two, get one free, and then, the last number is a check-digit
If you want more information about coupon codes, go to www.couponpros.org
The first digit of the manufacturer’s identification number is special. It is called the number system character. The following table shows you what different number system characters mean
0: Standard UPC number 1: Reserved 2: Random weight items (fruits, meat, vegetables, etc. 3: Pharmaceuticals 4: In store marketing for retailers (a store can set up unique barcodes for themselves, but no other store will be able to read them) 5: Coupons 6, 7 Standard UPC number 8: Reserved 9: Reserved
The last digit of the UPC code is called a check digit. In the case of our example, 7 This digit lets the scanner (and the computer attached to it) know if the number was scanned properly or not.
The first 11 digits are a combination of the prefix and the numbers assigned to a particular product. The final check digit is a mathematical algorithm weaving through the first 11-digits
The number at the far right is the check digit. In this case, it’s a 7. If you want to compute the check digit for a UPC-A Barcode in Excel, do the following: Put the 11-digit number you want to compute the check digit for in cell A1.
Put this formula in cell B1 (you may need to remove the space where before the 1st and 2nd line)
=10MOD(MID($A1,2,1)+MID($A1,4,1)+MID($A1,6,1)+MID($A1,8,1)+MID($A1,10,1)+(MID($A1,1,1)+MID($A1,3,1)+
MID($A1,5,1)+MID($A1,7,1)+MID($A1,9,1)+MID($A1,11,1))*3,10)
Put this formula in cell C1: =if($B1=10,0,$B1)
Put this formula in cell D1: =CONCATENATE(A1,C1)
The number in C1 is the check digit, the number in cell D1 is the complete barcode number with check digit.
There is no hidden data built into a barcode, there is no pricing information, there is no product information. The bars represent only the 12-digit number. The way that it works is: The manufacture affixes the barcode to the product. The retailer inputs information about the product into their back-end computer that controls and communicated to all of the store’s Point of Sales systems (cash register). The customer brings up their purchase to the front counter, the item is scanned and the POS system communicates to the back-end system pulling the information about the product. The info is printed on the sales receipt, the price is charged and then, the items are deducted from the store’s inventory.
The UPC symbol has two parts:
The machine-readable bar code The human-readable 12-digit UPC number
The manufacturer identification number is the first six digits of the UPC number — 753182 in the image above. The next five digits — 95342 — are the item number. The GS1 also supplies 7, 8 and 9 digit manufacturer numbers as well.
A person employed by the manufacturer, called the UPC coordinator, is responsible for assigning item numbers to products, making sure the same code is not used on more than one product, retiring codes as products are removed from the product line, etc.
Typically, every item that a manufacturer sells, in addition to every variation of the item requires a different item code. Since the barcode is also used to track inventory, it is important to have a different barcode for each of these variations. Using shoes as an example, a man’s oxford shoe may come in Black, Brown, Cordovan, each in sizes, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Each of these variations (3 colors x 6 sizes = 18 different products)
There are two types of barcodes for retail products, UPC – Universal Product Code and EAN — European Article Number. We are going to focus on the 12-digit UPC-A barcodes since they are the most common and these are easily readable everywhere.
Wherever you go, the grocery store, department store, on line at Amazon or your own refrigerator or pantry, you’ll find that everything that you purchase has a UPC barcode on it. Sometimes they are a little hard to find, but if you flip the package around, it’s there.
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data. The first use of barcodes was to label railroad cars, but they were not commercially successful until they were used to automate supermarket checkout systems, a task in which they have become almost universal.
Systems such as RFID are attempting to change the standard, but the simplicity, universality and low cost of printed barcodes has limited the role of these other systems. It costs less than one-half of one cent to implement a printed barcode compared to seven to thirty cents to implement a passive RFID.*
George Joseph Laurer developed the Universal Product Code in 1973. As an engineer at IBM he was asked to develop the pattern used for the Universal Product Code (UPC-A Barcode).
GS1, which used to be called the Uniform Code Council (UCC) is the provider of UPC barcode prefixes. A company goes to the GS1, they purchase the prefix and then are responsible for the self-assignment of the identification numbers that go after the prefix.
The Barcode prefix, the first 6, 7, 8 or 9 digits, is called a UPC Barcode Prefix The company who has been assigned the UPC Barcode Prefix is responsible for the assignment of the next digits (making up a total of eleven digits) to their products.
Then, as the barcode number is designated, the last number is mathematically determined through an algebraic equation to create a checksum (check digit). This check digit is the twelfth or final digit. When you join GS1, you get a prefix certificate along with your start-up package.
As far as we know, there are only a small handful of companies that require a copy of this certificate: Kroger’s, Walmart/Sam’s Club and Macy’s.
Unless you are specifically going to do business with these three chains, you have the option of using a company that is legally able to subdivide their barcode prefix.
The GS1 maintains the database of UPC Prefixes. It is our opinion that, although this database is conceptually a great idea, and has to be maintained, it is virtually ignored, unknown and unused.
Retailers input information from product data sheets filled out or given to them by their suppliers. The supplier gives the retailer the product information including the barcode based on the complete 12 digit code and the retailer enters it into their point of sale system.
There are no formal centralized databases of product barcodes. Using the mathematical formula x=1110 there are potentially 10 billion products that can be represented by UPC-A barcodes at any given time.
This, more than anything else, explains why there is no centralized database of products. No one has the bandwidth, energy or resources to catalog something this massive.
There is nothing programmed into a UPC barcode. The bars only represent the 12 digit number that is the barcode. The retailer associates these 12 numbers with the product information. This information is pulled from the retailer’s database when a product is scanned.
You have two choices when you need to buy a barcode or block of barcodes. You purchase directly from the GS1 (They charge a minimum of $750.00 plus a yearly renewal fee) or you purchase from us or a company like Nationwide Barcode (www.nationwidebarcode.com) .
Nationwide Barcode and similar companies received their prefixes in the 90’s or early 2000’s
In 2002 GS1 attempted to codify the agreement with UPC Barcode prefix holders which included renewal fees. The codified agreement included rules that were in the form of a contract which included not being able to subdivide a barcode number. Prior to this, there were no signed agreements with any prefix holders including Multicom Publishing.
The GS1 decided to change the way they were doing business. They started sending out renewal notices insisting that the prefix holders pay renewal fees and agree to the new terms and conditions.
Ultimately a class action suit was levied against the GS1 in the state of Washington and the GS1 lost. All prefix owners prior to August 28, 2002 became exempt to the GS1’s renewal fees and new codified agreement.
Quoting the UCC Settlement web site:
This Settlement provides that companies who became members of UCC before August 28, 2002, are not obligated to pay membership renewal fees to UCC to maintain membership as a condition for their use of Company Prefixes issued to them by UCC, or as a condition for Basic Membership Benefits as defined in the Class Settlement Agreement. Class members who have paid a renewal fee to UCC are entitled to compensation from a $3,895,000 settlement fund. The settlement also provides that the “licensing agreement,” which accompanied UCC renewal fee invoices, is null and void as to those who became members in UCC before August 28, 2002. **
Quoting George Laurer, “Often I am asked if a person that purchases a number from a subset seller will have legal problems in the future. Again, I am not a lawyer, but if the number was originally assigned to the seller by the UCC before August 2002, the answer is no problem.”**** Nationwide Barcode is one of the companies deemed legitimate by George Laurer. www.laurerupc.com
The decision to go with the GS1 or Nationwide Barcode (or a company similar to Nationwide Barcode) is a matter of economies of scale. GS1 charges an upfront fee and a yearly renewal fee based upon the number of 12-digit barcode numbers that you need along with your company’s revenue. The more you make, the more the barcode prefix will cost you, and this amount can increase over time. We believe that the GS1 is a great organization, they provide a tremendous service, however, for a small business with a limited budget, a Barcode Subdividing company makes the most sense.
* Text provided by Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode ** http://www.ibcaweb.org/ucc-settlement.htm *** http://bellsouthpwp.net/l/a/laurergj/UPC/renufee.html (page on George Laurer’s website) **** http://www.laurerupc.com (George Laurer’s site)
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