Do I need a barcode?

UPC or EAN barcodes are required by most retailers the world over in order to sell consumer products. There is no law requiring the use of barcodes.

What kind of barcode do I need for my consumer product?

US and Canada use UPC-A. Europe uses EAN. For special interest products such as books and periodicals, see Books and Periodicals below.

What does UPC stand for?

UPC stands for Universal Product Code originally standardized by the Uniform Code Council now known as GS-1. Internationally, the standard symbology is EAN-13 (European Article Number). Both standards are controlled internationally by GS-1.

What will this cost?

Barcodes are available directly from GS-1. Their fees start at approximately $750 (additional fees, requirements and restrictions apply). Barcodes are available elsewhere such as from Barcodes-now. Their fees are under $10 and qty discounts are available. .

Are there any other fees?

GS-1 has annual renewal fees. There are no additional fees from Barcodes-Now for the sale of UPC or EAN barcodes.

What is your Return Policy?

We offer a 10 day No Questions Asked Return Policy for barcode purchases up to 20 units. All sales are final on barcode sales greater than 20 units. Partial returns are accepted. Partial returns will be credited assuming the unit price of the retained sale. For example, if 20 barcodes are purchased and 10 are returned, the return will be calculated at the 10 unit price. No Returns are accepted on custom produced products, such as printed labels; all sales are final.

I want to order a UPC barcode. How do I make sure I'm not ordering an EAN?

The GTIN numbers numbers provided by GS-1 or Barcodes-Now can be used to create either a UPC or EAN symbol. When you create the barcode image on our web site, you specify if you want a UPC or EAN symbol. UPC uses (encodes) a 12 digit number, EAN uses a 13 digit number, but both are created from the same GTIN number.

What's the difference between a UPC and EAN format

The difference is not the number but the symbology used. When you create the barcode image on our web site, you specify if you want a UPC or EAN symbol. UPC uses (encodes) a 12 digit number, EAN uses a 13 digit number, but both are created from the same GTIN numbers. UPC assumes a country code of "0" which is not shown on the human readable portion of the barcode, but is shown on the EAN barcode. If you're working with a printer, commercial artist, graphic designer or broker/agent they will know which symbol you will need and can also help you. This image illustrates the difference between UPC and EAN formates. Notice that the barcodes are the same.

How do barcodes work?

"Barcodes in One Lesson" developed by InOneLesson is the best explanation of how barcodes work, that we've seen. This will take you to YouTube.

Are there other types of barcodes.

Yes there are a wide variety of different barcodes symbologies. GS-1 and Barcodes-Now handles UPC and EAN codes. We assembled the table below to help our customers understand the many types of barcodes and their uses.

Image	Barcode	Type	Character Set	Length	Checksum	Comments
	Aztec Code	2-D	Full ASCII; FNC1 and ESI control codes	Variable. Min 12 / Max 3832	Required	Includes error correction; minimum is 15x15 square, largest is 151x151
	Codabar	Linear	Numbers: 0-9; Symbols: - : . $ / +; Start/Stop Characters: A, B, C, D, E, *, N, or T	Variable		Older code; often used in libraries and blood banks.
	Code 128	Linear	All ASCII characters and control codes	Variable	Required	Widely used for various applications.
	Code 39	Linear	Uppercase letters A-Z; Numbers 0-9; Space - . $ / + %	Variable	Optional	Widely used for various applications.
	DataMatrix	2-D	All ASCII characters	Variable	Required	Includes error correction, up to 2335 ASCII characters
	EAN-13	Linear	Numbers Only	13	Required	EAN (European Article Numbering). Retail product for Europe and world-wide
	Maxicode	2-D	All ASCII characters	93	Required	Developed by the United Parcel Service for encoding destination information. Includes error correction.
	MSI Plessey	Linear	Numbers Only	Variable	Required	Grocery store shelf tags
	PDF-417	2-D	All ASCII characters	Variable	Required	Includes error correction, up to about 1850 ASCII or 2725 numeric characters
	QR Code	2-D	All ASCII Characters	Variable	Required	Includes error correction, up to about 1520 ASCII or 2509 numeric characters
	UPC-A	Linear	Numbers Only	12	Required	Retail product for USA and Canada
	PLANET	Linear	Numbers Only	Variable	Optional	US mail delivery.
	Code 16K	2-D	All ASCII characters	Variable	Required	Based on code 128

Books and Periodicals

"ISBN" stands for "International Standard Book Number". An ISBN is a number, not a bar code. One agency per country is designated to assign ISBNs for the publishers and self-publishers located in that country. Go to: http://www.isbn.org

The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is an eight digit number which identifies periodical publications as such, including electronic serials. Go to: http://www.issn.org