What a UPC-A is made of
The Universal Product Code was introduced for United States grocery stores in the 1970s, and the 12 digit form is the UPC-A. It is made of a number system digit, a manufacturer number, a product number and a check digit. The manufacturer number is licensed to a company by GS1 US, and the company then gives each product its own number.
The number system digit is the first digit. 0, 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are used for ordinary products. A 2 marks items sold by weight, where the shop works out the price and prints it into the code. A 3 is used for drugs and health products, a 4 is for use inside one store, and a 5 is used for coupons.
The 12th digit is the check digit. Starting from the right, the digits get the weights 3, 1, 3, 1 and so on, and the check digit brings the total up to the next multiple of 10. Under the number, Show the sum works out the one for your number.
UPC-A and EAN-13 are the same barcode
A UPC-A and an EAN-13 are drawn with the same bars. An EAN-13 that begins with 0 is a UPC-A with a 0 in front, and scanners report a UPC-A as 13 digits with a leading 0. Since 2005 retailers in the United States and Canada have been expected to scan EAN-13 as well, so a product with a non-US EAN-13 can be sold there.
You can tell the two apart in the printed digits. In a UPC-A, the first and last digits sit outside the bars, to the left and right, and the rest sit under the bars in two groups of five. An EAN-13 has its first digit on the left and 12 under the bars in two groups of six.
Where UPC-A is used and where it is not
UPC-A is the barcode on most packaged goods in United States and Canadian shops, and is what US retailers ask their suppliers for. Numbers have to come from GS1 US or a reseller. This tool draws the barcode and does not register the number.
UPC-E is a shorter form that squeezes some UPC-A numbers into 8 digits, for small packages. This tool does not make UPC-E. It also does not make the 2 or 5 digit add-on codes that magazines and books use.