How to Read 12 Digit UPC Barcode

Most bar codes in the US are 12-digit UPC (Universal Product Code) barcodes, 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 barcode; you can then proceed to read the numbers encoded in the lines.

Steps

1.     Note that barcodes 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."

1. Recognize that each UPC barcode begins and ends with 101 (thin black, thin white, thin black). In the very middle of the barcode, 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 barcode has 01010 in the middle.

1. Recognize that each digit, including the small numbers that begin and end the barcode, 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.)


2. So, the barcode 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.

HOW TO READ AND INTERPRET BARCODES

• UPC Barcodes also indicate the source of manufacture. Read the first "3" digits of the code to determine this.


• Since consumers are beginning to express their preferences on the subject of where something is made, it becomes important for consumers to be knowledgeable about this information.

 Example: If the first 3 digits of the barcode are 690, 691 or 692, the product is "MADE IN CHINA". A code of 471 is "MADE IN TAIWAN".

The first 3 digits codes are:

Assigned codes
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	GS1 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
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
621	GS1 Syria
622	GS1 Egypt
624	GS1 Libya
625	GS1 Jordan
626	GS1 Iran
627	GS1 Kuwait
628	GS1 Saudi Arabia
629	GS1 Emirates
640 - 649	GS1 Finland
690 - 695	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	GS1 Colombia
773	GS1 Uruguay
775	GS1 Peru
777	GS1 Bolivia
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
955	GS1 Malaysia
958	GS1 Macau
977	Serial publications (ISSN)
978 - 979	Bookland (ISBN)
980	Refund receipts
981 - 982	Common Currency Coupons
990 - 999	Coupons
Note: Prefixes not assigned yet are reserved for future use.

TIPS

1.     Barcodes from soda cans, books, video store rentals, and all the rest which are fewer than 12 digits only use the white/black/white/black scheme.

2.     Memorizing the thickness of each line size takes some time (as does memorizing each digit's line sequence), but it becomes easier with practice.

3.     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 barcode ends with a bar rather than a space. So, actually, each digit has two codes.

4.     Recognize that each digit is made up of seven equally spaced lines. So you can see from the image above that the digit 4 is made up of the 7 black and white lines in the order of 1011100 where 1 is black and 0 is white. These seven small lines become 1132 in the simplified thick or thin line system.

5.     The first code is the manufacturer of the product. Many times the "Brand-X" is made by the same manufacturer (e.g., Prestone antifreeze and the Advanced Autoparts generic, 3M "Post-its" and the generic sold at OfficeMax). While there's no guarantee the quality is the same, it's probably just the same item with different coloration in a different package.

6.     When the numbers that the barcode represents are printed below the bars, the first and last digits are often printed outside of the bars. While the first number is part of the company number, the last number is a check digit (known as a Mod 10 check digit). This number is calculated based on the other digits in the number.

7.     You can use the check digit yourself, to ensure that you've figured out the other digits correctly. Add together all the digits in odd-numbered positions (there will be 6, from the 1st to the 11th) and multiply that sum by 3. Then add each digit in an even-numbered position (of which there are 5) to that sum. The check digit will be whatever number you need to add to that end result sum to make it a multiple of 10 (i.e., (-sum) mod 10).
In the above example, you get 3*(0+6+0+2+1+5) + (3+0+0+9+4) = 42 + 16 = 58. So you would need to add a 2 to 58 to get a multiple of ten.
Note- the reason the scheme is rather complex is to allow scanning machines to detect all single-digit errors, as well as almost all swaps of two adjacent digits.

8.     Formerly, printed books contained a human-readable 10-digit ISBN and a 13-digit EAN on the outside and sometimes a UPC inside. Mass market paperbacks had the reverse: a UPC on the outside (to facilitate scanning in drug stores, etc.) and an EAN on the inside front cover. That is no longer the case. Books now have a human readable 10-digit and 13-digit ISBN on the outside along with a bar code that represents the 13-digit ISBN and sometimes a price extension and since this follows the 13-digit EAN standard, it has an EAN symbol. ISBNs are now only issued as 13-digits. To convert an "old" ISBN to an EAN, you add 978 (Bookland) to the front, the first 9-digits of the ISBN and recalculate the check digit. In the future, the 979 prefix will also be used

Warnings

• You will not do well if you have poor eyesight.


• Outside the US & Canada, the similar 13-digit EAN barcode system is more prevalent. The EAN contains an additional digit used as part of a country code.

Things You'll Need

• A 12-digit UPC barcode


• Good Eyesight

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