Prepared by Anji Kalita Cornette

The George Washington University

If you have a product that you are placing in a retail shop, you may want to track your sales with barcodes. Some shops may also require you to have a barcode on your product. Barcodes enable keeping track of inventory quick and efficient.

There are many kinds of barcode "symbologies". Many have become de-facto standards used universally in many industries primarily Retail and Industrial. For retail products, the UPC code or the Uniform Product Code which is an all-numeric code is commonly used. If you are shipping containers to the U.S. Government you would use different barcodes called LOGMARS (Code 39). Barcodes are even used today to track packages like for UPS and Federal Express. You can even use your computer to track the status of your package. Depending on what your product is, you will need to refer to the association which would be the source for standards and specifications for the use of barcodes as illustrated in the example below. (See resource websites on the next page.)

For example, if you are a musical act and have recorded your own CD and are planning to sell it on consignment at a music retail outlet such as Tower Records, you may consult the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for standards and specification on barcodes. The RIAA uses a scanning system to track record sales. The recordings are identified by their barcodes which when scanned track the units sold.

WHAT ARE BARCODES?

Barcodes can be a series of numbers or letters. Often on products, you will recognize the barcode as a box of vertical wide and narrow dark lines separated by spaces of white lines. These lines are called "symbologies". The white lines reflect light, which a scanner reads. This light resembles pulses like Morse Code, which matches the series of numbers or letters. On an UPC barcode, there are typically 12 numbers. The first digit indicates what type of product the code is on. The next 5 digits are your manufacturer’s ID number. The next 5 digits are numbers you can assign to identify the specific product. The last digit is a check digit to tell if the barcode scanner read the digits correctly. A list of products and assigned UPC codes should be given to the retail stores where the product will be placed so their cash register system can identify the codes. Barcodes used in industries contain more information so there are a variety of barcodes to choose from. For retail products, the function of the barcode is to identify the manufacturer and the product.

PROCEDURES FOR ATTAINING BARCODES

First, you will need to get a manufacturer’s ID number or UPC code, which identifies your products from all other products. The Uniform Code Council in Dayton, Ohio distributes the numbers. Their telephone number is (937) 435-3870. (UCC’s website is listed below.) Once you have your UPC number or manufacturer’s ID number, you can order software to create your barcodes on your own PC or you can order barcodes from label makers, which specialize in making barcodes. There are some resources listed below to assist you with this process.

FIVE WEB RESOURCES TO ASSIST YOU

This is the website for the Uniform Code Council where you can obtain your UPC code or manufacturer’s ID number.

This website is a good complete resource on Barcodes. There is a "Barcode Education Page", which includes a "Barcode Glossary" and "Symbology Information". It even has a page of "Sources for Standards and Specifications" where you can link to the appropriate association for your product.

This website is for Katzscan Barcode Applications Consulting located in Dania, Florida. It has some helpful information on barcodes and has a page on the barcode reliability.

TAL Technologies make barcode label software. This website includes information on barcodes. You can also order software to create barcodes with your own PC.

Custom Sensors, Inc. make barcode sensors and systems. Their website is very informative and includes pages for people new to barcodes called the "Begginer’s Barcode" pages. In addition, they have a "Barcode Help Page" which also has a lot of good information on barcodes.