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• The leading Number System Character, (the first number of the 11
digits to be entered) should conform to these UPC assignments:
0,6,7,8 Regular UPC 12 digit codes with numbers assigned by
the GS1 US. (Do not use 0 as the leading number for in-
store marking).
2 Store-marked random weight items of meat and produce.
3 Reserved for National Drug Code and Health Related Items.
4 Use this leading digit for in-store marking of non-food items.
5 Reserved for coupons. Do not use this today, or you will not
be able to process coupons through your system tomorrow.
UPC 2 and 5-character supplemental codes
The UPC standards include the addition of a
2 or 5-character supplemental code used
with magazines and paperback books. To
read the supplements, you must first enable
them using the RF Laser Setup Menu.
NOTE: Enabling the supplements disallows
the reading of UPC codes from right to left
to assure that the supplement does not get missed.
ISBN Specifications
ISBN (International Standard Book Numbering) bar codes are essentially
EAN-13 with a 5-digit supplement, where the first 3 digits are the Bookland
country codes of 978 for books and 977 for periodicals. Although the bar code
contains 18 characters, the ISBN format uses only 9 of them, along with a
newly calculated Mod-11 check digit. For example, a bar code containing the
numbers 978055337062153495 would transmit as 0553370626 in the ISBN
format. The RF Laser Reader has the option of transmitting in the ISBN
format.