Bulk Barcode Generator - EAN-13

Barcode Technology - EAN-13 Barcode               Hide the description

EAN-13 is unique identifiers (barcodes) used to identify new, branded products sold at retail. The products contain

the EAN number or GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) to identify itself.

Valid characters: 0123456789

EAN-13 is one of the many barcode formats currently in use.

A Barcode is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form.

The barcode formats has two categories:

One-dimensional (1D) --- Barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines.

Two-dimensional (2D) --- Using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns to represented data.

EAN - European Article Number, but is now referred to as The International Article Number. It is a standard

describing abarcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from a specific manufacturer. EAN barcodes are used worldwide for lookup at retail point of sale, each retail product has its unique EAN-13 number.

EAN barcodes only represent the digits 0?, it cannot represent other characters.

The most commonly used EAN standard is the thirteen-digit EAN-13, the less commonly used 8-digit EAN-8 barcode

was introduced for use on small packages, where EAN-13 would be too large. 2-digit EAN-2 and 5-digit EAN-5 are supplemental barcodes, placed on the right-hand side of EAN-13 or UPC. These are generally used for periodicals like magazines or books, to indicate the current year's issue number; and weighed products like food, to indicate the manufacturer's suggested retail price.

The 13-digit EAN-13 number consists of four components:

**  GS1 prefix - 3 digits

The first three digits of the EAN-13 identify the GS1 Member Organization which the manufacturer has joined (not necessarily where the product is actually made). Each manufacturer by the numbering authority indicated by the GS1 Prefix. Some EAN-13 codes which beginning with 0 are actually 12-digit UPC codes with prepended 0 digit.

**  Manufacturer code - variable length

The manufacturer code is a unique code assigned to each manufacturer. EAN-13 uses "variable-length manufacturer codes". Assigning fixed-length 5-digit manufacturer codes, means that each manufacturer can have up to 99,999 product codes. In the publishing industry( ISBN and ISSN), this component is used to identify the language in which the publication was issued and managed by a transnational agency covering several countries.

**  Product code - variable length

The product code is assigned by the manufacturer. The product code immediately follows manufacturer code. The total length of manufacturer code plus product code should be 9 or 10 digits depending on the length of country code (2-3 digits). In ISBN, ISMN and ISSN, it uniquely identifies the publication from the same publisher.

**  Check digit

The check digit is an additional digit, used to verify that a barcode has been scanned correctly. It is computed modulo 10, where the weights in the checksum calculation alternate 3 and 1. In particular, since the weights are relatively prime to 10, the EAN-13 system will detect all single digit errors. It also recognizes 90% of transposition errors (all cases, where the difference between adjacent digits is not 5).

Calculation of checksum digit

The checksum is calculated as sum of products - taking an alternating weight value (3 or 1) times the value of each data digit. The checksum digit is the digit, which must be added to this checksum to get a number divisible by 10 (i.e. the additive inverse of the checksum, modulo 10). See ISBN-13 check digit calculation for a more extensive description and algorithm. The Global Location Number(GLN) also uses the same method.

Human Readable:

Most barcodes display their corresponding values below them, which makes it possible to human read and manually  enter the barcode values into the equivalent system when the barcode label is worn out and cannot be read by the barcode scanner.

The different of EAN and UPC (Universal Product Code):

They are both Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs), with the difference being UPCs are one digit shorter (12) and are more commonly used in the United States and Canada.

Advantages:

It's not required to label all articles with the price. The price is stored in the database and can be accessed via the barcode number. There is no need to manually calculate the price of the product. You only need to use the POST system to scan the EAN barcode on each product purchased by a customer. Because each product has its own unique EAN number, the POST system can get the corresponding price of each product in the database and calculate the total amount. It is fast and safe because there is no way to make a mistake.

History:

In 1977 the EAN code was used by 12 countries (all the countries of the European Community). Today, use of the EAN code has spread to all west European countries, USA, Canada, Australia and Japan. Today the EAN is called GTIN (Global Trade Item Number).

Frequently Asked Questions About EAN-13 Barcode

What is the origin and development process of the EAN-13 barcode?

EAN-13 is the abbreviation of European Article Number, a barcode protocol and standard used in supermarkets and other retail industries.

EAN-13 is established on the basis of the UPC-A standard established by the United States. The EAN-13 barcode has one more country/region code than the UPC-A barcode in order to meet the needs of international applications. The UPC-A barcode is a barcode symbol used to track goods in stores. It is only used in the United States and Canada. It was developed by the United States (Uniform Code Council) in 1973 and has been used since 1974. It is The earliest barcode system used for product settlement in supermarkets.

EAN-13 consists of a prefix code, manufacturer identification code, product item code and check code, with a total of 13 digits. Its encoding follows the principle of uniqueness and can ensure that it is not repeated worldwide.

The EAN-13 barcode is mainly used in supermarkets and other retail industries and is a very common product barcode.

The EAN-13 barcode standard was formulated by the International Commodity Barcode Association. It is a world-wide commodity barcode system that is designed to facilitate the identification and circulation of commodities. The EAN-13 barcode standard specifies the barcode structure, encoding method, printing requirements, etc.

EAN International (EAN) is a non-profit international organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Its purpose is to formulate and improve a globally unified commodity barcode system and provide value-added services for optimizing enterprise supply chain management. Its member organizations span the globe.

Why don't the United States and Canada use EAN-13 barcodes?

The reason why the United States and Canada do not use EAN-13 is because they early adopted the UPC-A barcode as the standard for product barcodes. The UPC-A barcode was produced by the United States Uniform Code Committee.

 The coding length is 12 digits and only supports 0-9. number. The EAN-13 barcode was later developed by the International Article Numbering Center. The code length is 13 digits and only supports numbers 0-9, but it has an additional country/region code.

In fact, the UPC-A barcode can be regarded as a special case of the EAN-13 barcode, which is the EAN-13 barcode with the first digit set to 0. Therefore, EAN-13 barcodes and UPC-A barcodes are compatible as long as the scanning device can recognize both types of barcodes.

What is the difference between EAN-13 barcode and UPC-A barcode?

The EAN-13 barcode has one more country/region code than the UPC-A barcode. In fact, the UPC-A barcode can be regarded as a special case of the EAN-13 barcode, that is, the first digit is set to 0. 13 barcodes.

The EAN-13 barcode is developed by the International Article Numbering Center and is universally used. The code length is 13 digits, and the first two digits represent the country or region code.

The UPC-A barcode is produced by the United States Uniform Code Committee and is mainly used in the United States and Canada. The code length is 12 digits, and the first digit indicates the numeric system code.

The EAN-13 barcode and the UPC-A barcode have the same structure and verification method, similar appearance, and both have grooves.

The EAN-13 barcode is a superset of the UPC-A barcode and is compatible with the UPC-A barcode.

What is the difference between EAN-13 barcode and EAN-128 barcode?

The EAN-13 barcode is just a product code. In addition to the product code, the EAN-128 barcode can also include various product-related information, such as weight, quantity, consumption date, etc.

The data length of the EAN-13 barcode is fixed at 13 bits, and the data length of the EAN-128 barcode is variable, depending on the data content, but it must be an even number of digits.

The EAN-13 barcode is universal. The EAN-128 barcode is a special application of the Code 128 barcode. It must be used in the EAN/UCC system to represent the information of the storage and transportation unit or logistics unit of the commodity.

Will the EAN-13 barcode be replaced by the EAN-128 barcode?

No, because the application scope and purpose of EAN-13 barcode and EAN-128 barcode are different.

The EAN-13 barcode is used to represent the basic information of the commodity, such as country, manufacturer and product, while the EAN-128 barcode is used to represent the information of the storage and transportation unit or logistics unit of the commodity, such as weight, quantity, date, etc. Therefore, the EAN-13 barcode and the EAN-128 barcode can be used at the same time or selected according to different needs.

At present, the EAN-13 barcode is still the universal commodity barcode and there is no sign of being replaced by the EAN-128 barcode.

If I have a UPC code, do I still need to apply for an EAN?

Unnecessary. Both UPC and EAN can identify goods. Although the former originated in the United States, it is part of the global GS1 system, so if you register UPC under the GS1 organization, it can be used globally. If there is a requirement for 13 digits, you can add the number 0 in front of the UPC code.

UPC-A barcodes can be converted to EAN-13 barcodes by adding a leading 0. For example, the UPC-A barcode 012345678905 corresponds to the EAN-13 barcode 0012345678905. This will not only ensure compatibility with UPC-A barcodes, but also enable your barcodes to cope with international exchanges.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of EAN-13 barcodes?

Advantage:

The EAN-13 barcode is a world-wide commodity barcode that can encode a relatively large amount of data in a small area and ensure that it is not repeated worldwide.

It has strong applicability and can be used in supermarkets and retail industries.

Flexible to accommodate products or assets of different sizes and shapes.

Shortcoming:

It takes up a lot of space and requires higher print quality and scanning accuracy.

Please list some examples of applications of EAN-13 barcodes in store management.

EAN-13 barcodes are mainly used in supermarkets and other retail industries to identify the country, manufacturer and item code of goods.

Application examples:

Used in POS systems to quickly scan product information and prices to improve checkout efficiency and accuracy.

Used for inventory management, tracking the incoming and outgoing goods, and preventing shortages or excesses.

Used for market analysis, collecting product sales data, and understanding consumer needs and preferences.

4 types of EAN barcodes

EAN-13: The original 13-digit format, suitable for countries around the world except the United States and Canada, which use UPC barcodes.

EAN-8: 8-bit compressed version suitable for small products.

EAN-5: A 5-digit extension appended to the EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode to indicate currency and price.

EAN-2: A 2-digit extension appended to the end of the EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode to indicate the issue number of magazines and newspapers.

Most commonly used barcode types

EAN-13 code: Product barcode, universal, supports 0-9 digits, 13 digits in length, has grooved.

UPC-A code: Product barcode, mainly used in the United States and Canada, supports 0-9 numbers, 12 digits in length, has grooves.

Code-128 code: Universal barcode, supports numbers, letters and symbols, variable length, no grooves.

QR-Code: Two-dimensional barcode, supports multiple character sets and encoding formats, variable length, and has positioning marks.

Why are there many types of barcodes?

There are many types of barcodes because they have different uses and characteristics.

For example, a UPC [Universal Product Code] is a barcode used to label retail products and can be found on nearly every item sold and in grocery stores in the United States.

CODE 39 is a barcode that can encode numbers, letters and some special characters. It is commonly used in manufacturing, military and medical fields.

ITF [Interleaved Two-Five Code] is a barcode that can only encode an even number of digits. It is commonly used in the logistics and transportation fields.

NW-7 [also known as CODABAR] is a barcode that can encode numbers and four start/end characters. It is commonly used in libraries, express delivery and banks.

Code-128 is a barcode that can encode all 128 ASCII characters. It is commonly used in areas such as package tracking, e-commerce and warehouse management.

What is the historical origin of barcodes?

In 1966, the National Association of Food Chains (NAFC) adopted bar codes as product identification standards.

In 1970, IBM developed the Universal Product Code (UPC), which is still widely used today.

In 1974, the first product with a UPC barcode: a pack of Wrigley's gum was scanned in an Ohio supermarket.

In 1981, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) approved Code39 as the first alphanumeric barcode standard.

In 1994, Japan's Denso Wave Company invented QR-Code, a two-dimensional barcode that can store more information.

Barcode application examples

Barcode Apps for Food Tracking: Apps that record the nutritional content, calories, protein and other information of the food you eat by scanning the barcode on the food label. These apps can help you record your eating habits, Manage your health goals, or understand where your food comes from.

Transportation and logistics: Used for ordering and distribution codes, product warehousing management, logistics control systems, ticket sequence numbers in international aviation systems. Barcodes are used in ordering and distribution in the logistics and transportation industry. They can be used to string Line Shipping Container Codes (SSCCs) are encoded to identify and track containers and pallets in the supply chain. They can also encode other information such as best before dates and lot numbers.

Internal supply chain: internal management of the enterprise, production process, logistics control system, ordering and distribution codes. Barcodes can store various information, such as item number, batch, quantity, weight, date, etc. This information can Used for tracking, sorting, inventory, quality control, etc., to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the company's internal supply chain management.

Logistics tracking: Barcodes are widely used in logistics tracking. It can be used to identify goods, orders, prices, inventory and other information. By affixing barcodes on packaging or shipping boxes, it is possible to achieve warehouse entry and exit. Automatic identification and recording of distribution, inventory and other logistics information to improve the accuracy and efficiency of logistics management.

Production line process: Barcodes can be used for factory production line process management to improve production efficiency and quality. Barcodes can identify product numbers, batches, specifications, quantities, dates and other information to facilitate traceability during the production process. Inspection, statistics and other operations. Barcodes can also be integrated with other systems, such as ERP, MES, WMS, etc., to achieve automatic collection and transmission of data.

Some common barcode application areas

Ticket Verification: Cinemas, event venues, travel tickets and more use barcode scanners to verify tickets and the admission process.

Food Tracking: Some apps allow you to track the food you eat via barcodes.

Inventory Management: In retail stores and other places where inventory needs to be tracked, barcodes help record the quantity and location of items.

Convenient checkout: In supermarkets, shops and restaurants, barcodes can quickly calculate the price and total of goods.

Games: Some games use barcodes as interactive or creative elements, such as scanning different barcodes to generate characters or items.

Benefits of using barcodes

Speed: Barcodes can scan items in a store or track inventory in a warehouse faster, thus greatly improving the productivity of store and warehouse personnel. Barcode systems can ship and receive goods faster to reasonably way to store and locate items.

Accuracy: Barcodes reduce human error when entering or recording information, with an error rate of approximately 1 in 3 million, and enable real-time information access and automated data collection anytime, anywhere.

Cost Effectiveness: Barcodes are cheap to produce and print, and can save money by increasing efficiency and reducing losses. Barcoding systems allow organizations to accurately record the quantity of product left, its location and when reorders are needed, which This avoids waste and reduces the amount of money tied up in excess inventory, thereby improving cost efficiency.

Inventory Control: Barcodes help organizations track the quantity, location and status of goods throughout their life cycle, improve the efficiency of moving goods in and out of warehouses, and make ordering decisions based on more accurate inventory information.

Easy to use: Reduce employee training time because using the barcode system is easy and less error-prone. You only need to scan the barcode label attached to an item to access its database through the barcode system and obtain information related to the item. information.

Application of barcodes in inventory management

Goods Receipt: By scanning the barcode on received goods, the quantity, type and quality of goods can be quickly and accurately recorded and matched with purchase orders.

Shipping: By scanning the barcode on outgoing goods, the quantity, destination and status of the goods can be quickly and accurately recorded and matched with sales orders.

Moving warehouse: By scanning the barcodes on the goods and warehouse locations, the movement and storage of goods can be quickly and accurately recorded, and inventory information updated.

Inventory: By scanning the barcodes on goods in the warehouse, you can quickly and accurately check the actual quantity of goods and the system quantity, and find and resolve discrepancies.

Equipment Management: By scanning the barcode on the equipment or tool, you can quickly and accurately record the use, repair and return of the equipment or tool, and prevent loss or damage.

About QR-Code

QR-Code was invented in 1994 by a team led by Masahiro Harada of the Japanese company Denso Wave, based on the barcode originally used to mark automobile parts. It is a two-dimensional matrix barcode that can achieve multiple uses.

QR-Code has the following advantages compared with one-dimensional barcodes:

QR-Code can store more information because it uses a two-dimensional square matrix instead of one-dimensional lines. One-dimensional barcodes can usually only store dozens of characters, while QR-Code can Stores thousands of characters.

QR-Code can represent more data types, such as numbers, letters, binary, Chinese characters, etc. One-dimensional barcodes can usually only represent numbers or letters.

QR-Code can be scanned and recognized faster because it has four positioning marks and can be scanned from any angle. One-dimensional barcodes usually need to be scanned from a specific direction.

QR-Code is more resistant to damage and interference because it has error correction capabilities that can recover partially lost or obscured data. One-dimensional barcodes generally do not have such capabilities.

The difference between two-dimensional barcodes and one-dimensional barcodes mainly lies in the encoding method and information capacity. Two-dimensional barcodes use a two-dimensional square matrix, which can store more information and represent more data types. One-dimensional barcodes use one-dimensional lines, can only store a small amount of information, and can only represent numbers or letters. There are other differences between two-dimensional barcodes and one-dimensional barcodes, such as scanning speed, error correction capabilities, compatibility, etc.

QR-Code is not the only two-dimensional barcode. According to the principle, two-dimensional barcodes can be divided into two categories: matrix and stacked. Common two-dimensional barcode types are: Data Matrix, MaxiCode, Aztec, QR -Code, PDF417, Vericode, Ultracode, Code 49, Code 16K, etc., they have different applications in different fields.

The two-dimensional barcode developed on the basis of the one-dimensional barcode has advantages that the one-dimensional barcode cannot compare with. As a portable data file, although it is still in its infancy, it is in the ever-improving market. Driven by the economy and rapidly developing information technology, coupled with the unique characteristics of 2D barcodes, the demand for the new technology of 2D barcodes in various countries is increasing day by day.

About UPC-A barcode

UPC-A is a barcode symbol used to track items in stores and is only used in the United States and Canada. It consists of 12 digits and each item has a unique code.

It was formulated by the Uniform Code Council in the United States in 1973, jointly developed with IBM, and has been in use since 1974. It was the earliest barcode system used for product settlement in supermarkets. An item marked with a UPC-A barcode was scanned at the checkout counter at a Troys Marsh supermarket.

The reason why UPC-A barcodes are used in supermarkets is that it can quickly, accurately and conveniently identify product information, such as price, inventory, sales volume, etc.

UPC-A barcode consists of 12 digits, of which the first 6 digits represent the manufacturer code, the last 5 digits represent the product code, and the last digit is the check digit. In this way, we only need to scan the barcode at the supermarket checkout counter , you can quickly obtain product price and inventory information, greatly improving the work efficiency of supermarket salespeople.

UPC-A barcode is mainly used in the United States and Canadian markets, while other countries and regions use EAN-13 barcodes. The difference between them is that the EAN-13 barcode has one more country code.

About EAN-13 barcode

EAN-13 is the abbreviation of European Article Number, a barcode protocol and standard used in supermarkets and other retail industries.

EAN-13 is established based on the UPC-A standard established by the United States. The EAN-13 barcode has one more country/region code than the UPC-A barcode in order to meet the needs of international applications. . The UPC-A barcode is a barcode symbol used to track goods in stores. It is only used in the United States and Canada. It was developed by the United States [Uniform Code Council] in 1973 and has been used since 1974. It It was the earliest barcode system used for product settlement in supermarkets.

EAN-13 consists of a prefix code, manufacturer identification code, product item code and check code, a total of 13 digits. Its encoding follows the principle of uniqueness and can ensure that it is not repeated worldwide.

EAN International, referred to as EAN, is a non-profit international organization founded in 1977 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Its purpose is to formulate and improve globally unified commodities The barcode system provides value-added services to optimize enterprise supply chain management. Its member organizations are located around the world.

EAN-13 barcodes are mainly used in supermarkets and other retail industries.

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