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Appendix H
UPC Specifications
UPC symbols are found on almost all grocery
products and many other retail items. The UPC
code most people are familiar with (UPC-A) is a
fixed-length (12 digits) numeric only code, with
the first digit controlled by UPC coding
assignments and the last digit a checksum. UPC-
E and UPC-E1 are variations of the standard
UPC-A code. Each digit is constructed of two bars and two spaces. UPC has
very precise standards of code size, structure, and numbers to be used.
EAN is an international superset of UPC. EAN-13 has
13 digits, with the first two digits representing a
country code. The final digit is, as with UPC, a check
digit. EAN-8 is a shorter version on the EAN-13 code
containing seven data digits and ending again with a
checksum.
The exact UPC/EAN symbol specifications are available from:
GS1 US
7887 Washington Village Drive, Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45459
937-435-3870
937-435-7317
info@uc-council.org
8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST
Specifications are also available via the Internet at:
http://www.uc-council.org
Keep the following guidelines in mind when printing UPC bar codes:
• If you plan to use a "supermarket-type" in-counter scanner to read
the codes, specify a bar code height of at least .9" for an optimal first
read rate.
• Make it an early practice to observe the numbering conventions of
the GS1 US. Do not label unmarked merchandise with a bar code
whose numbers may conflict with those already assigned. If products
with these numbers are not in your store now, they are likely to be in
the future, causing conflicts in your inventory system.