EAN 13 Barcode Information & FAQ
What is an EAN-13 barcode?
The 13-digit European Article Number (EAN-13) is the most commonly used retail barcode worldwide. A retail barcode is a string of numbers which has never been used on a product in a shop before. This system allows product information like price, stock and description to be quickly recalled at the point of sale or other operations of a shop without the risk of two different products sharing the same number. Most retailers require all products to have high-quality barcodes on all incoming goods. Modern checkouts rely on barcodes to serve customers as quickly as possible.
What are EAN-13 barcodes used for?
The EAN-13 is used as a product identifier in retail environments. Having product information available by simply scanning a barcode is invaluable to retailers, not only for selling goods over the checkout but also for receiving goods, tracking stock, reordering low stock, and quickly accessing product details for customers. Every unique product needs its own barcode- for example, mint-flavoured gum and watermelon-flavoured gum made by the same company would both use different barcodes, however, one barcode is enough to sell an unlimited number of the gum type it is assigned to. This allows shops to set different prices for different flavours and to keep track of stock for each variant to ensure they don’t run out of one type.
How are EAN-13 barcodes unique?
The system of retail barcodes as product identifiers is only effective if numbers are regulated to ensure that the same number is not used more than once. If anyone could make up their own number, there would be chaos when two different products use the same code. This is done by carefully controlling the issuance of EAN13 barcodes so that each number is assigned only once. There are two ways to get officially assigned and genuine barcodes. The first is through membership of an organisation called GS1, which tends to rent large blocks of numbers out for a yearly fee. The second way is to buy barcode numbers in your desired quantity from a legitimate barcode reseller such as Barcodes New Zealand. These barcode numbers are of GS1 origin (which means they are unique and have never been assigned to a company before) and can be sold individually.
History of the Barcode
The first retail barcodes were developed by the Uniform Code Council (UCC) in the USA during the early 1970s. In 1974 in Ohio, the first barcode was used on a pack of chewing gum. Since then, barcodes have become the worldwide standard for identifying retail products due to their simplicity, clarity and efficiency.
Other types of retail barcode
While EAN-13 barcodes are the most commonly used codes in New Zealand, other variants serve slightly different purposes or are popular in other parts of the world. Some other types of barcodes that are used in retail are:
UPC-A: This 12-digit barcode is North America’s most commonly used retail code. It serves the same purpose as an EAN-13 (a code for retail products), but it is 12 digits instead of 13. Barcodes New Zealand can provide UPC-A barcodes to customers who prefer this format. This is usually those whose market is primarily in North America. It should be noted that most shops worldwide accept both EAN-13 and UPC-A barcodes.
EAN-8: This 8-digit barcode is used for very small products which cannot fit a standard retail barcode. The only way to obtain these is by renting them from GS1. They are carefully managed due to a limited supply.
ITF-14: Also known as a TUN or carton barcode, these 14-digit codes are used in inward goods to process shipments from suppliers. ITF-14 barcodes should not be printed on a product that will be sold over the counter.
QR Code: While some shops are experimenting with using QR codes for over-the-counter purchases, most QR codes in a retail setting are used by the manufacturer to link to some sort of content that will provide value to consumers- a website, instruction manual, video, or any other online resource.
Differences between UPC and EAN13
While UPC and EAN codes are very similar in appearance and function, it is essential to understand their differences when deciding which format best suits your purposes. Both UPC and EANs are retail barcodes, which means they are used in shops for processing and selling products. The image to the left displays a side-by-side comparison of these two barcode formats. The most immediately obvious difference is that the UPC code is 12 digits, whereas the EAN13 is 13. All retail barcodes sold by Barcodes New Zealand can be supplied in either format by adding or removing the leading 0, which is the 13th digit. In either format, the solid bars of the barcodes are identical, which means if a scanner can read an EAN code, it can usually also scan a UPC.
Another notable difference between the UPC-A and EAN13 codes is that the former is most commonly used in North America, while the rest of the world favours the EAN-13 format. We advise our clients to choose the barcode type most common to the region they are conducting most of their business, but most shops can process either format.
Symbology of the EAN code
The 13-digit EAN code comprises a 12-digit string plus a check digit at the end. The 12 digits are a unique series that has never been assigned to a retail product before, and the last digits corrects for errors in scanning or data entry. There is a 5-step process used to calculate the check digit based on the previous 12 digits:
1: Start from the end of the barcode number and add up every alternate digit. Do not include the check digit if it is already present. For example, if our barcode number is 0712345678911, we will remove the one at the end (because it is the check digit) and add up every second number starting on the right side. So we will get 1+8+6+4+2+7 = 28
2: Multiply the result from the previous step by 3. 28 x 3 = 84
3: Add up all the remaining digits (excluding check digit again if present), so in our example, this will be 0+1+3+5+7+9 = 25
4: Add the result from step 3 to the result from step 4. 84+25 = 109
5: The check digit is the smallest number which can be added to the result of step 4 to create a multiple of 10. So in our case, we can add 1 to 109 to make 110, a multiple of 10. This makes 1 our check digit.
The black bars of the barcode encodes the numbers represented underneath in a format that can be read by a digital scanner. Each number is represented by two black bars and two empty white spaces. The width of the bars and spaces is what differentiates the digits when the barcode is scanned. There are three different encoding schemes (different bar combinations for each digit 0-9), known as L, G and R. All EAN barcodes begin with an L-encoded digit and end with an R-encoded digit. This means scanners can determine the beginning and end of a barcode and thus scan it upside down without issues.
Advantages of EAN-13 barcodes
- EAN13 barcodes bring a host of advantages to manufacturers, suppliers, retailers and customers, including:
- Shortening checkout wait times for customers by efficiently accessing product details like the price
- Reducing human error through the use of scanners instead of manual number entry
- Stocktaking with a single scan instead of counting individual products
- Easy processing of inward goods with an integrated and developed barcoding system
- Tracking of goods throughout the supply chain
- Access to larger retail shops that require barcodes for all stocked products
- Operational simplicity reduces the employee training required
