Code 128 is a continuous, multilevel, full ASCII code. Each of the Code 128 characters consists of three bars and three spaces. The bars and spaces may be one, two, three, or four modules wide. The total length of each code 128 character is eleven modules, with the total length of the bar modules odd, and the total length of the space modules even.

The character set consists of 103 different characters, three different start characters, and one unique stop character. With the three different start characters, there are three different code subsets available. They are:

1. Using the "A" start character — All upper case alphanumeric characters plus all of the ASCII control characters.
2. Using the "B" start character — All upper and lower case alphanumeric characters.
3. Using the "C" start character — Double density numeric characters, all number pairs from 00 to 99.

EAN Barcode — European Article Number. The international standard or system for applying unique article numbers and bar codes to products. The EAN bar code is a numeric only code, generally encoding 13 digits (known as EAN-13), though in specific circumstances shorter codes (EAN-8) and supplementary codes are used. The North American equivalent (now technically a subset of the EAN system) is the Universal Product Code (UPC).

EAN Bar Code Types — The EAN Codes encode either 13 or 8 characters. The 13 character version is a superset of the UPC A code. The 8 character version is for printing on smaller packages.

V : Logistic Variant assigned by the manufacturer (trade items)
C : The last digit serves to check that those preceding have been correctly captured. It is always calculated using the previous digits.

EAN 13 — 2 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 3

EAN 13 is used to encode thirteen characters. The first two characters are the flag characters that identify the country of origin, the next ten characters are the data characters, and the last character is the check character. NOTE: The UPC-A symbol is a subset of the EAN 13 symbols. A UPC-A symbol is an EAN 13 symbol with the first flag character set to zero.

EAN-13 for Retail Units — the identification is a numeric code and has the following general structure:

EAN-14 (former DUN-14): A trade unit containing identical products can be identified with either an EAN-13 or an EAN-14 number. The EAN-14 consist of the EAN number of the unit contained headed by a Logistic Variant of 1 digit which is different for each packaging level. The Logistic Variant is a number between 1 and 8. It is chosen by the manufacturer according to its specific needs.

This code is especially adapted to the poor quality of packaging materials frequently used for trade items (corrugated cardboard), it is designed to be read by a fixed or portable bi-directional scanner. Interleaved 2 of 5 code is a numeric only bar code. Each character of this code is represented by five elements, two wide and three narrow. Wide elements are decoded as binary one (1), and narrow elements are decoded as binary zero (0). The wide to narrow element ratio should be between two and three. Whether or not the elements used to encode a character are bars or spaces depends upon the location of the character within the message. The first character of the message is encoded into the bars immediately following the start character. The second character of the message is encoded into the spaces between the bars of the first character, thus eliminating the inter-character space. Because of this, Interleaved 2 of 5 is a continuous bar code.

UCC/EAN-128 SYMBOLOGY - The symbology specified for the representation of Application Identifier data is UCC/EAN-128, a variant of' Code 128', which use is exclusively reserved to EAN International and the Uniform Code Council (UCC). It is not intended to be used for data to be scanned at the point of sales in retail outlets. What are the benefits of the UCC/EAN-128 symbology? UCC/EAN-128 offers 3 major advantages, it is:

— Complete: It is one of the most complete, alphanumeric, one-dimensional symbologies available today. The use of three different character sets (A, B and C), facilitates the encoding of the full 128 ASCII character set.
— Compact: Code 128 is one of the most compact linear bar code symbologies. Character set C enables numeric data to be represented in a double density mode. Here, two digits are represented by only one symbol character saving valuable space.
— Concatenatable: This enables to combine multiple AIs and their fields into a single bar code.
— Reliable: Code 128 symbols use two independent self-checking features which improves printing and scanning reliability.
 

For more information access http://www.ean.be/html/UCCEAN128.html#UCC

SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code) — with a secure bar code symbology, UCC/EAN-128. This combination allows all participants in the supply chain to use a common, standard solution for their individual tracking and tracing needs.

The UCC/EAN-128 bar code symbology requires AIs to define the data architecture. AIs are prefixes which indicate the meaning and format of the data which follows. They may be used for, amongst other things, item identification, measurements, quantities, tractability, dates, transaction references and location numbers. For more information access

For further information: http://www.ean.be/html/SSCC.html#SSCC

Version A, (most common) is used to encode a twelve digit number.

Version E, (zero suppressed) is a six digit code used for marking small packages.

Version D, (variable length) is not commonly used for package marking. It is used in special applications.

Both Version A and E may include either a 2 digit or a 5 digit supplemental algorithm or check digit to insure data integrity.

In order for your company to print U.P.C. bar code symbols, your company will need to become a member of GS1 US Partner Connections. When you become a member, your company will be assigned an identification number for your company's use (company prefix). You will need this number to create your own U.P.C.s.