UPC-A Barcodes

A Universal Product Code (UPC) is a 12-digit unique identifier code for your product represented by scannable bars. Bars of varying widths represent the series of numbers usually shown below the bars. Retailers use barcode scanners to read the bars and convert them back to the 12-digit UPC number that they represent. The cash register then looks up that number in the retailer's inventory system to find the corresponding product name and price. Producers selling in retail environments will need a separate UPC barcode for each particular product and product size. If you have an 8 oz. size and a 16 oz. size, for example, you need to assign two unique numbers.

UPCs originate with a company called the GS1 US (formerly the Uniform Code Council). A manufacturer pays a membership fee plus annual licensing fees for the privilege of having a six-digit manufacturer identification number. The manufacturer identification number is the first six digits of the UPC number -- 639382 in the image above. The next five digits in the UPC -- 00039 -- are the item number. The final number is a check digit, which is calculated based on the other numbers of the bar code.

Last time we checked, you could get a company prefix from GS1, and licensing for 100 product UPCs for $750. Their number is (937) 435-3870.

Small-scale producers can purchase single UPC numbers from four companies in the United States that are legally authorized to resell single UPC numbers: Simply Barcodes (www.UPCcode.us), www.buyabarcode.com, legalbarcodes.com and EZUPC.info. The product numbers from these companies are legitimate, but they will only be valid for as long as the companies are in business. Pricing for buying barcodes in smaller lots from these third-party resellers runs around 1 barcode for $89, 3 for $150, and 6 for $225.

In the end, we found a co-packer, a company that manufactures private label products, to rent us some of their UPC codes for $15 each. The cost is great, but the barcodes are only good for as long as that company keeps paying their annual fees to GS1.

Printing Barcodes on Labels – Barcodes can be printed using most computer printers. You can either install a barcode font – many available free online – on your computer just like any other font, or you can use barcode generating software and import each UPC into your label it as a graphic. For the latter, we used http://www.barcoding.com/upc/.