UPC-E Introduction
This page is about basic information of UPC-E, as well as its generating and scanning components.
Overview of UPC-E
UPC-E Barcode is a variation of UPC-A which compresses out unnecessary zeros and allows for a more compact barcode. To be accurate, UPC-E barcode uses an implied number system 0 to reduce 10 digits into 6 digits. In addition, a number system 1 is also available to us. Due to this fact, UPC-E is commonly used on very small packages where a standard UPC-A couldn't fit reasonably.
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Generating and Printing UPC-E Barcodes
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Structure of UPC-E
A typical UPC-E structure is as below:
An UPC-A barcode is identical to the left-half of a typical UPC-A barcode and it also includes four areas:
- Number System: It is a single digit that identifies the "type" of product, e.g., o: Regular UPC codes, 1: Reserved, 3: Weight items marked at the store, etc.
- Manufacturer Code: It contains five digits, which is assigned by the UCC Council. All products produced by a given company need to use the same manufacturer code.
- Product Code: It contains five digits, which is a unique code assigned by the manufacture. And manufacturers have the right to assign their product codes randomly as long as they have no repeat product codes.
- Check Digit: It is an additional digit used to verify the accuracy of the data encoded. UPC-E has no check digit encoded explicitly. In reality, the check digit which is encoded in UPC-E is the check digit from the original UPC-A barcode.
Converting a UPC-E to UPC-A
The 10 characters (Manufacturer and Product Code) of a UPC-E barcode can be reduced into 6 digits by compressing "extra" zeros. The following logic is used to convert UPC-E to UPC-A.
- The last code of UPC-E is 0, 1, or 2: The UPC-A code consists of the first two digits of the UPC-E code, the last digit of the UPC-E code, adding four zeros, and then adding characters 3 through 5 from the UPC-E code.
- The last code of UPC-E is 3: The UPC-A code consists of the first three digits of the UPC-E code, adding five zero, and then adding characters 4 and 5 from the UPC-E code.
- The last code of UPC-E is 4: The UPC-A code consists of the first four digits of the UPC-E code, adding five zeros, and then adding the fifth character from the UPC-E code.
- The last code of UPC-E is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9: The UPC-A code consists of the first give digits of the UPC-E code, adding four zeros, and then adding the last character from the UPC-E code.
Barcode Size Setting of UPC-E
Like other linear barcodes, UPC-A barcode width and height can is user-defined. The barcode size settings, however, must correspond to some requirements.
Please get details from
UPC-E size setting instruction.
Valid Data Characters of UPC-E
UPC-E is capable of encoding:
Add-On or Supplement Data of UPC-E
Add-On Symbols are designed to encode supplementary information of the main UPC-E barcode on periodicals, hardback, and paperback books. The supplement data can be 2 or 5 digits and the human readable interpretation should be above the supplementary barcode image.
UPC-E
+ 2
UPC-E
+ 5