ISO/IEC 15420:2009

Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — EAN/UPC bar code symbology specification

Manufacturers of bar code equipment and users of bar code technology require publicly available standard symbology specifications to which they can refer when developing equipment and software. ISO/IEC 15420:2009 specifies the requirements for the bar code symbology known as EAN/UPC. It specifies EAN/UPC symbology characteristics, data character encodation, dimensions, tolerances, decoding algorithms and parameters to be defined by applications. It specifies the Symbology Identifier prefix strings for EAN/UPC symbols. Data content and the rules governing the use of this symbology are outside the scope of ISO/IEC 15420:2009; they are defined in the GS1 General Specifications.

Technologies de l'information — Techniques automatiques d'identification et de capture des données — Spécification de symbologie de code à barres EAN/UPC

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 14-Dec-2009
• ICS: 01.080.50 - Graphical symbols for use on information technology and telecommunications technical drawings and in relevant technical product documentation
• ICS: 35.040 - Information coding
• ICS: 35.040.50 - Automatic identification and data capture techniques
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31 - Automatic identification and data capture techniques
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 31/WG 1 - Data carrier
• Current Stage: 9092 - International Standard to be revised
• Start Date: 30-Mar-2022
• Completion Date: 30-Mar-2022

Relations

• Revises: ISO/IEC 15420:2000 - Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code symbology specification — EAN/UPC
• Effective Date: 15-Apr-2008

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 15420
Second edition
2009-12-15
Information technology — Automatic
identification and data capture
techniques — EAN/UPC bar code
symbology specification
Technologies de l'information — Techniques automatiques
d'identification et de capture des donnnées — Spécification de
symbologie de code à barre EAN/UPC

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2009
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©  ISO/IEC 2009
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ii © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction.v
1 Scope.1
2 Normative references.1
3 Terms and definitions .1
4 Requirements.3
4.1 Symbology characteristics.3
4.2 Symbol structure .3
4.2.1 Symbol types .3
4.2.2 Symbol encodation .3
4.2.3 Symbol formats .5
4.3 Dimensions and tolerances.14
4.3.1 Measurement basis .14
4.3.2 Width of narrow element (X).15
4.3.3 Bar height.15
4.3.4 Quiet zone .15
4.3.5 Positioning of the add-on symbol .15
4.3.6 Element widths .15
4.3.7 Symbol width .16
4.3.8 Magnification factors .17
4.3.9 Dimensional Tolerances .17
4.4 Reference decode algorithm .17
4.5 Symbol quality .21
4.5.1 Test methodology.21
4.5.2 Decodability .22
4.5.3 Additional Criteria .22
4.6 Application-defined parameters .23
4.7 Human-readable interpretation .23
4.8 Transmitted data.23
4.9 Implementation guidelines .23
Annex A (normative) Additional features .24
Annex B (normative) Symbology identifier .26
Annex C (informative) Overview of the GS1 system .27
Annex D (informative) Illustration of number sets A, B and C and auxiliary patterns.28
Annex E (informative) Dimensioned drawings of the nominal size symbols .30
Annex F (informative) Traditional Dimensional Tolerances .35
Annex G (informative) Guidelines for reading and printing .37
Bibliography.39

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 15420 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 31, Automatic identification and data capture techniques.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 15420:2000), which has been technically
revised.
iv © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The technology of bar coding is based on the recognition of patterns encoded in bars and spaces of defined
dimensions. There are numerous methods of encoding information in bar code form, known as symbologies.
EAN/UPC is one such symbology. The rules defining the translation of characters into bar and space patterns,
and other essential features of each symbology, are known as the symbology specification.
This International Standard serves as a normative reference in the “GS1 General Specifications”. The
administration of the numbering system by GS1 ensures that identification codes assigned to particular items
are unique world-wide and are defined in a consistent way. The major benefit for the users of the GS1 system
is the availability of uniquely defined identification codes for use in their trading transactions. Annex C gives an
overview of the GS1 system.
NOTE GS1 is the worldwide association encompassing the organizations formerly known as EAN International and
Uniform Code Council (UCC).
Manufacturers of bar code equipment and users of bar code technology require publicly available standard
symbology specifications to which they can refer when developing equipment and software.

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved v

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)

Information technology — Automatic identification and data
capture techniques — EAN/UPC bar code symbology
specification
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies the requirements for the bar code symbology known as EAN/UPC. It
specifies EAN/UPC symbology characteristics, data character encodation, dimensions, tolerances, decoding
algorithms and parameters to be defined by applications. It specifies the Symbology Identifier prefix strings
for EAN/UPC symbols.
Data content and the rules governing the use of this symbology are outside the scope of this International
Standard; they are defined in the GS1 General Specifications (see bibliography).
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 646:1991, Information technology — ISO 7-bit coded character set for information interchange
ISO/IEC 15416, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code
print quality test specification — Linear symbols
ISO/IEC 19762-1, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 1: General terms relating to AIDC
ISO/IEC 19762-2, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 2: Optically readable media (ORM)
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 19762-1, ISO/IEC 19762-2 and
the following apply.
3.1
add-on symbol
symbol used to encode information supplementary to that in the main symbol which it accompanies
3.2
auxiliary pattern
pattern of bars/spaces representing non-data components of the symbol
EXAMPLE guard patterns and inter-character delineators
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved 1

3.3
delineator
auxiliary pattern used to separate characters within an add-on symbol
3.4
even parity
characteristic of the encodation of a symbol character whereby the character contains an even number of dark
modules
3.5
GS1 member organization
agency responsible for the administration of the GS1 system and maintenance of a number bank within a
defined territory
3.6
GS1 System
specifications, standards, and guidelines administered by GS1
3.7
GTIN
Global Trade Item Number
number that is used for the unique identification of trade items worldwide and which may be 8, 12, 13 or 14
digits in length
3.8
guard pattern
auxiliary pattern of bars/spaces corresponding to start or stop patterns in other symbologies, or serving to
separate the two halves of a symbol
3.9
magnification factor
constant multiplier of the nominal dimensions of an EAN/UPC symbol
3.10
number set
series of ten bar/space patterns of either even or odd parity encoding the digits 0 to 9
3.11
odd parity
characteristic of the encodation of a symbol character whereby the character contains an odd number of dark
modules
3.12
variable parity encodation
process of encoding additional information in a series of symbol characters by using particular combinations of
odd and even parity characters to implicitly encode digits or for checking purposes
3.13
zero-suppression
process of removing zeroes from specified positions in a GTIN-12 data string in order to encode it in UPC-E
format
2 © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

4 Requirements
4.1 Symbology characteristics
The characteristics of EAN/UPC are:
a) Encodable character set: numeric (0 to 9) i.e. ASCII characters 48 - 57 inclusive, in accordance with
ISO
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