HOW TO READ BAR CODES.. Most bar codes in the US are 12-digit UPC (Universal Product Code) bar codes, with ten digits at the bottom of the code and one small number to each side. Impress your friends by asking them to select a random item from the kitchen with a removable label and cut the numbers off of the UPC bar code; you can then proceed to read the numbers encoded in the lines. Steps Reading UPC Bar codes 1. Note that bar codes are made up of both white and black lines.The white spaces in between the black lines are part of the code. 2. Understand that there are four different thicknesses to the lines. Henceforth, the skinniest line will be referred to as "1," the medium-sized line as "2," the next largest line as "3." and the thickest is "4. " 3. Recognize that each UPC bar code begins and ends with 101 (thin black, thin white, thin black). In the very middle of the bar code, you will notice two thin black lines sticking down between the numbers. The thin white between them, as well as the thin whites to either side, make up a 01010. Each UPC bar code has 01010 in the middle. 4. Recognize that each digit, including the small numbers that begin and end the bar code, has its own unique four-line set. 0 = 3211, 1 = 2221, 2 = 2122, 3 = 1411, 4 = 1132, 5 = 1231, 6 = 1114, 7 = 1312, 8 = 1213, 9 = 3112. (Note that the sum of bar widths numbers is 7 for all codes because each code is 7 units wide.) Notice that the line colors are reversed after the center-line: The lines of the digits to the left are white/black/white/black whilst to the right they are black/white/black/white. This provides some error checking and allows the reader to know the direction in which it is scanning a code. It is also crucial so that the bar code ends with a bar rather than a space. So, actually, each digit has two codes. 5.So, the bar code above whose first two digits are 03 would start out "10132111411". Broken down this is "101-3211-1411" where 101 marks the beginning of the bar code and 3211 marks the digit 0 . Understanding Bar Codes #* UPC Bar codes are typically registered and used in the United States and Canada and, therefore, do not indicate a country identifier. A similar bar code system is EAN (European Article Number). It contains 13 digits and also indicates the country in which the bar code was registered. Read the first "3" digits of the code to determine this. Example: If the first 3 digits of the bar code are 690, 691, or 692, the country in which the code was registered was China. It is important to note that the country code in EAN bar codes does not indicate where the product was manufactured . For example, if the bar code begins with 64, then it was registered in Finland (probably to a company that was headquartered in Finland). Look more closely at the packaging, however, and you may find that the product was "Made in China". Tips Outside the US & Canada, the similar 13-digit EAN bar code system is more prevalent. The EAN contains an additional digit used as part of a country code. ........Warnings............. You will not do well if you have poor eyesight. 000 - 019 GS1 US 020 - 029 Restricted distribution (MO defined) 030 - 039 GS1 US 040 - 049 Restricted distribution (MO defined) 050 - 059 Coupons 060 - 139 GS1 US 200 - 299 Restricted distribution (MO defined) 300 - 379 GS1 France 380 GS1 Bulgaria 383 GS1 Slovenija 385 GS1 Croatia 387 GS1 BIH (Bosnia-Herzegovina) 389 GS1 Montenegro 400 - 440 GS1 Germany 450 - 459 & 490 - 499 GS1 Japan 460 - 469 GS1 Russia 470 GS1 Kyrgyzstan 471 GS1 Taiwan 474 GS1 Estonia 475 GS1 Latvia 476 GS1 Azerbaijan 477 GS1 Lithuania 478 GS1 Uzbekistan 479 GS1 Sri Lanka 480 GS1 Philippines 481 GS1 Belarus 482 GS1 Ukraine 484 GS1 Moldova 485 GS1 Armenia 486 GS1 Georgia 487 GS1 Kazakstan 488 GS1 Tajikistan 489 GS1 Hong Kong 500 - 509 GS1 UK 520 - 521 GS1 Association Greece 528 GS1 Lebanon 529 GS1 Cyprus 530 GS1 Albania 531 GS1 MAC (FYR Macedonia) 535 GS1 Malta 539 GS1 Ireland 540 - 549 GS1 Belgium & Luxembourg 560 GS1 Portugal 569 GS1 Iceland 570 - 579 GS1 Denmark 590 GS1 Poland 594 GS1 Romania 599 GS1 Hungary 600 - 601 GS1 South Africa 603 GS1 Ghana 604 GS1 Senegal 608 GS1 Bahrain 609 GS1 Mauritius 611 GS1 Morocco 613 GS1 Algeria 615 GS1 Nigeria 616 GS1 Kenya 618 GS1 Ivory Coast 619 GS1 Tunisia 620 GS1 Tanzania 621 GS1 Syria 622 GS1 Egypt 623 GS1 Brunei 624 GS1 Libya 625 GS1 Jordan 626 GS1 Iran 627 GS1 Kuwait 628 GS1 Saudi Arabia 629 GS1 Emirates 640 - 649 GS1 Finland 690 - 699 GS1 China 700 - 709 GS1 Norway 729 GS1 Israel 730 - 739 GS1 Sweden 740 GS1 Guatemala 741 GS1 El Salvador 742 GS1 Honduras 743 GS1 Nicaragua 744 GS1 Costa Rica 745 GS1 Panama 746 GS1 Republica Dominicana 750 GS1 Mexico 754 - 755 GS1 Canada 759 GS1 Venezuela 760 - 769 GS1 Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera 770 - 771 GS1 Colombia 773 GS1 Uruguay 775 GS1 Peru 777 GS1 Bolivia 778 - 779 GS1 Argentina 780 GS1 Chile 784 GS1 Paraguay 786 GS1 Ecuador 789 - 790 GS1 Brasil 800 - 839 GS1 Italy 840 - 849 GS1 Spain 850 GS1 Cuba 858 GS1 Slovakia 859 GS1 Czech 860 GS1 Serbia 865 GS1 Mongolia 867 GS1 North Korea 868 - 869 GS1 Turkey 870 - 879 GS1 Netherlands 880 GS1 South Korea 884 GS1 Cambodia 885 GS1 Thailand 888 GS1 Singapore 890 GS1 India 893 GS1 Vietnam 896 GS1 Pakistan 899 GS1 Indonesia 900 - 919 GS1 Austria 930 - 939 GS1 Australia 940 - 949 GS1 New Zealand 950 GS1 Global Office 951 GS1 Global Office (EPCglobal) 955 GS1 Malaysia 958 GS1 Macau 960-969 Global Office (GTIN-8s) 977 Serial publications (ISSN) 978 - 979 Bookland (ISBN) 980 Refund receipts 981 - 983 Common Currency Coupons 990 - 999 Coupons Notes: 960 has been assigned to GS1 UK for GTIN-8 allocations. Prefixes not listed above are reserved by GS1 Global Office for allocations in non-member countries and for future use.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Jun 2013 10:49:56 +0000
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