A  guide to barcode formats – 1D and 2D 

Numbers only, must be an even number of digits

The bar code that appears on all goods sold in shops and supermarkets.

First 2 Numbers = Country Code (UK=50), Next 5 = Company ID

Next 5 = Product Code, Last Digit = Check Digit

Used to identify outer cases and trays entering supermarkets, e.g Tesco tray labels

Special version of code 128 using numeric data only. Used in many industries, including barcoding outer boxes going into supermarkets.

A version of Interleave 2 of 5, with 14 Characters. Used to barcode outer boxes going into supermarkets. Made up of 13 characters from the coresponding EAN13 barcode on the product inside the carton, plus a leading 0 to make 14.

This barcode is used in North America and appears on most products sold in shops and supermarkets. The numbers in the barcode are as follows.

1 - System digit

2-6 Supplier or manufacturers code (defined by registering body)

7-11 Product code (defined by supplier or manufacturer)

12 Check digit (automatically calculated by barcode software)

The PDF417 bar code consists of 3 to 90 rows, each of which is like a small linear bar code.

A Datamatrix barcode consists of black and white cells. The information to be encoded can be text or data.

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