This symbology is a family of bar-codes which includes UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13 and EAN-8. GTIN-12 or UPC (Universal Product Code) is the most common bar-code for retail product labeling in the United States and Canada. It contains 12 digits bellow the symbol, and is used to identify the manufacturer and the product. GTIN-13 or EAN-13 is similar to the UPC code, except it is used for marking retail goods world-wide and has 13 digits bellow the symbol. This bar-code type can be used for products throughout the world. EAN-8 is the shorter version of EAN-13; it is used for smaller packages (cigarette packs, chewing gum packs, etc.) and its purpose is to use as little space as possible.
Code 39 is widely used for ID badges and inventory identification by government and industry. It is a variable-length alphanumeric symbology.
Code 128 can encode characters more densely than other bar-codes. It is also a variable-length alphanumeric symbology, and the easiest to read. It is commonly used for shipping labels.
GS1 DataBar bar-codes, previously called Reduced Space Symbology barcodes, can contain more information in a smaller code than UPC or EAN. It is mostly used for identification of small items.
I25 is a numeric-only symbology. It has a low density, which is here an advantage, because it is easier to read these bar-codes at a distance. They are used in laboratories, industrial distribution centers and warehouses for labeling shipping cartons.
Bookland EAN bar-code is used to identify publications – books, magazines, e-books, videos and software. Each title is assigned a unique number – ISBN – which contains a publisher and title identifier.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is used for bar-coding serial publications – magazines, newspapers, activity books etc.
