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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:
Uniform Code Council, Inc.
7887 Washington Village Drive, Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45459
937-435-3870
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 UPC Council. 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.
• 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 assignedby the UPC Council. (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.
Supplemental codes
The UPC standards include the addition of a 2 or 5-character supplemental code as
well as the Extended Coupon Code. To read the supplements, you must first enable
them using the RF Terminal Setup Menu.
NOTE: Enabling the supplements disallows the reading of UPC codes from right to
left to assure that the 2 and 5 digit supplements are not get missed. Coupon codes can be read from right to
left or left to right.
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