Other Names
JAN (Japanese Numbering Authority, based on numbering system)
Overview
EAN/JAN-13 is a superset of UPC-A implemented by the International Article Numbering Association (EAN) in Europe. Unlike UPC-A, EAN/JAN-13 includes country code specification for international use. As EAN-13 is a superset of UPC-A, any barcode software capable of reading EAN-13 can also read UPCA with minor differences.
Encoding
EAN/JAN-13 can encode 10 digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. You can use an additional pipe("|") to encode supplemental data. Refer to remarks below for additional information.
Structure
EAN/JAN-13 has the following structure:
- Start guard bars (always bar+space+bar).
- Left half - 7 digits encoded using the encoding schema A or B.
- Center guard bars (space+bar+space+bar+space).
- Right half - 6 digits encoded using the encoding schema C.
- Stop guard bars (always with a pattern bar+space+bar).
The barcode structure expresses four main components, the number system, manufacturer code, product code and checkdigit.
Number system: In the human readable text, the number system appears to the left of the start guard bar and continues into the first one or two digits after the guard bar. The number system indicates a numbering authority or region that assigns the manufacturer code. For a list of the current number system, refer to the Application Identifier Values.
Manufacturer code: In the human readable text, the manufacturer code appears between the start and center guard bars. The numbering authority assigns the manufacturer code.
Product code: In the human readable text, the product code appears between the center and stop guard bars. Each manufacturer assigns the product code, which provides 99,999 different combinations.
Checkdigit: In the human readable text, the checkdigit appears to the right of the stop guard bar. Toolkit automatically calculates and appends the checkdigit to your 12 digit encoding.
Requirements
A EAN/JAN-13 barcode must contain 12 digits plus a checkdigit. Toolkit automatically calculates and appends the checkdigit based on your encoded value.
The nominal X dimension is 13 mils and the printable X dimension ranges from 10.4 to 24 mils.
Remarks
The EAN/JAN-13 barcode format allows for additional supplemental data, which you append to the end of the encode value using a pipe character ("|").
For example, if you specify "901236788122" as your 12-digit value and "02" for your 2-digit supplemental value, you would change the value to "901236788122|02"
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