ISO/IEC 15420:2009
(Main)Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — EAN/UPC bar code symbology specification
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
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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 15420:2009(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2009
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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.
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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
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
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/IEC 646;
b) Symbology type: continuous;
c) Elements per symbol character: 4, comprising 2 bars and 2 spaces, each of 1, 2, 3 or 4 modules in width
(auxiliary patterns have differing numbers of elements);
d) Character self-checking: yes;
e) Data string length encodable: fixed (8, 12, or 13 characters including check digit depending on specific
symbol type);
f) Omni-directionally decodable: yes;
g) Symbol check digit: one, mandatory (see A.1);
h) Symbol character density: 7 modules per symbol character;
i) Non-data overhead not including the check digit or quiet zones:
⎯ 11 modules for EAN-13, EAN-8 and UPC-A symbols
⎯ 9 modules for UPC-E symbols
4.2 Symbol structure
4.2.1 Symbol types
There are four types of the EAN/UPC symbol:
⎯ EAN-13, UPC-A and UPC-E, all of which may be accompanied by an add-on symbol;
⎯ EAN-8.
The four symbol types are described in 4.2.3.1 to 4.2.3.4 and the optional add-on symbols are described in
4.2.3.5.
4.2.2 Symbol encodation
4.2.2.1 Symbol characters
Symbol characters shall encode digit values in 7-module characters selected from different number sets
known as A, B and C, as in Table 1:
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
Table 1 — Number sets A, B and C
Digit
Set A Element Widths Set B Element Widths Set C Element Widths
value
S B S B S B S B B S B S
0 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 1
1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
2 2 1 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 2 2
3 1 4 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 4 1 1
4 1 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 1 1 3 2
5 1 2 3 1 1 3 2 1 1 2 3 1
6 1 1 1 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 4
7 1 3 1 2 2 1 3 1 1 3 1 2
8 1 2 1 3 3 1 2 1 1 2 1 3
9 3 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 3 1 1 2
NOTE S denotes a space (light), B denotes a bar (dark), and the element widths are in modules.
Annex D illustrates Table 1 graphically. The sum of the bar modules in any symbol character determines its
parity. Symbol characters in number set A are odd parity characters. Symbol characters in number sets B and
C are even parity characters. Number set C characters are mirror images of number set B characters.
Symbol characters in number sets A and B always begin on the left with a light module and end on the right
with a dark module. Symbol characters in number set C begin on the left with a dark module and end on the
right with a light module.
A data character shall normally be represented by a symbol character. However in certain specific instances
defined below (see 4.2.3.1, 4.2.3.4 and 4.2.3.5) the combination of number sets in a symbol may itself
represent either data or a check value. This technique is referred to as variable parity encodation.
4.2.2.2 Auxiliary pattern encodation
Auxiliary patterns shall be composed as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 — Auxiliary patterns
Number of
Auxiliary pattern Element widths in modules
modules
S B S B S B
Normal guard pattern 3 1 1 1
Centre guard pattern 5 1 1 1 1 1
Special guard pattern 6 1 1 1 1 1 1
Add-on guard pattern 4 1 1 2
Add-on delineator 2 1 1
NOTE S denotes a space (light) element, B denotes a bar (dark) element.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
Annex D illustrates these patterns graphically.
The normal guard pattern corresponds to the start and stop patterns in other symbologies. The special guard
pattern is used as a stop pattern in UPC-E symbols.
4.2.3 Symbol formats
4.2.3.1 EAN-13 symbols
The EAN-13 symbol shall be made up as follows, reading from left to right:
⎯ a left quiet zone;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ 6 symbol characters from number sets A and B in accordance with Table 3;
⎯ a centre guard pattern;
⎯ 6 symbol characters from number set C;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The rightmost symbol character shall encode the check digit calculated in accordance with Annex A.1.
Since the EAN-13 symbol comprises only 12 symbol characters but encodes 13 digits of data (including the
check digit), the value of the additional digit, which is the character in the leftmost position in the data string,
shall be encoded by the variable parity mix of number sets A and B for the 6 symbol characters in the left half
of the symbol. The coding system for values of the leading digit is specified in Table 3. Figure 1 is an example
of an EAN-13 bar code symbol.
NOTE UPC-A bar patterns (see 4.2.3.3) are a subset of EAN-13, although the human-readable information, the
symbol layout and the quiet zone requirements (see 4.3.4) differ.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
Table 3 — Left half of EAN-13 symbol
Leading digit,
implicitly Number sets used for coding left half of EAN-13 symbol
encoded
Symbol character position
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 A A B A B B
2 A A B B A B
3 A A B B B A
4 A B A A B B
5 A B B A A B
6 A B B B A A
7 A B A B A B
8 A B A B B A
9 A B B A B A
NOTE 13-digit strings printed in EAN-13 begin with a number from 1 to 9. 13-digit strings that begin with 0 (e.g.
GTIN-12) are printed using UPC-A or UPC-E.
Figure 1 — EAN-13 bar code symbol
4.2.3.2 EAN-8 symbols
The EAN-8 symbol shall be made up as follows, reading from left to right:
⎯ a left quiet zone;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ 4 symbol characters from number set A;
⎯ a centre pattern;
⎯ 4 symbol characters from number set C;
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The rightmost symbol character shall encode the check digit calculated in accordance with Annex A.1.
Figure 2 shows an example of an EAN-8 bar code symbol.
3 4 5 1
2 0 1 2 >
<
Figure 2 — EAN-8 bar code symbol
4.2.3.3 UPC-A symbols
The UPC-A symbol shall be made up as follows, reading from left to right:
⎯ a left quiet zone;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ 6 symbol characters from number set A;
⎯ a centre pattern;
⎯ 6 symbol characters from number set C;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The rightmost symbol character shall encode the check digit calculated in accordance with Annex A.1.
Figure 3 shows an example of a UPC-A bar code symbol.
A UPC-A symbol implicitly encodes a digit zero (0) as a prefix to the GTIN-12 data structure.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
0 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Figure 3 — UPC-A bar code symbol
4.2.3.4 UPC-E symbols
4.2.3.4.1 UPC-E symbol structure
The UPC-E symbol shall be made up as follows, reading from left to right:
⎯ a left quiet zone;
⎯ a normal guard pattern;
⎯ 6 symbol characters from number sets A and B in accordance with Table 4;
⎯ a special guard pattern;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The UPC-E symbol shall only be used to encode GTIN-12 data structures which commence with a zero and
contain a sequence of four or five zeroes in defined positions, as shown in Table 5. These zeros are removed
from the data during encoding by the process of zero suppression described in 4.2.3.4.2. Figure 4 shows an
example of a UPC-E bar code symbol.
1
0 0 7 8 3 4 9
Figure 4 — UPC-E bar code symbol (encoding “0 07834 00009 1” by zero suppression). A UPC-E
symbol implicitly encodes a digit zero (0) as a prefix to the GTIN-12 data structure.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
4.2.3.4.2 Encodation of a UPC-E symbol
The following algorithm describes the encodation of a data string suitable for zero suppression:
1) Let D1, D2, D3.D12 denote the GTIN-12 data characters (including check digit). D1 shall always be
0. D12 shall be the symbol check digit calculated according to the algorithm in Annex A.1. Let X1,
X2.X6 denote the six symbol characters in the final UPC-E symbol.
2) Convert D2 through D11 into a symbol character string by removing zeroes according to the following
rules:
a) if D11 equals 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
and D7 to D10 inclusive are all 0
and D6 is not 0
then D7 to D10 are not encoded.
Symbol character: X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6
Data character: D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D11
b) if D6 to D10 inclusive are all 0
and D5 is not 0
then D6 to D10 are not encoded and X6 = 4.
Symbol character: X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6
Data character: D2 D3 D4 D5 D11 4
c) if D4 is 0, 1 or 2
and D5 to D8 inclusive are all 0
then D5 to D8 are not encoded.
Symbol character: X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6
Data character: D2 D3 D9 D10 D11 D4
d) if D4 is 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9
and D5 to D9 inclusive are all 0
then D5 to D9 are not encoded and X6 = 3.
Symbol character: X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 X6
Data character: D2 D3 D4 D10 D11 3
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
3) Determine the number sets for the implicit encodation of D12 from Table 4.
4) Encode symbol characters X1 to X6 using number sets A and B as determined in step 3.
Table 4 — Number sets for UPC-E Symbol
Value of check Number sets used for coding UPC-E symbol
digit D12
Symbol character position
1 2 3 4 5 6
0 B B B A A A
1 B B A B A A
2 B B A A B A
3 B B A A A B
4 B A B B A A
5 B A A B B A
6 B A A A B B
7 B A B A B A
8 B A B A A B
9 B A A B A B
EXAMPLE 1
Original data Zero suppressed Rule
0 1 2 3 4 5 0 0 0 0 5 8 1 2 3 4 5 5 2a
Number sets to encode check digit 8 B A B A A B
EXAMPLE 2
Original data Zero suppressed Rule
0 4 5 6 7 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 4 5 6 7 8 4 2b
Number sets to encode check digit 0 B B B A A A
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
EXAMPLE 3
Original data Zero suppressed Rule
0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 7 3 3 4 5 6 7 0 2c
Number sets to encode check digit 3 B B A A A B
EXAMPLE 4
Original data Zero suppressed Rule
0 9 8 4 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 1 9 8 4 7 5 3 2d
Number sets to encode check digit 1 B B A B A A
NOTE The number sets used to implicitly encode the check digit are shown below the digits in the zero-suppressed
columns.
4.2.3.4.3 Decoding a UPC-E symbol
Derivation of the 12 digit data structure from the characters encoded in the UPC-E symbol can be performed
according to Table 5, using the digit at position P6 as the key.
Table 5 — Decoding of UPC-E symbol
A B
Encoded UPC-E digits Decoded number
Leading Check
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 D10 D11 D12
C D
digit digit
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 0 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 (C)
0
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 1 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 (C)
1
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 2 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 (C)
2
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 0 0 0 0 0 X4 X5 (C)
3
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 0 0 0 0 0 X5 (C)
4
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 5 (C)
5
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 6 (C)
6
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 7 (C)
7
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 8 (C)
8
(0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 (C) (0) X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 9 (C)
9
A
The symbol characters at positions P1, P2 . P5 of the UPC-E symbol are represented by X1, X2 . X5.
B
Re-inserted zeroes are shown in underlined bold type, in shaded cells.
C
The leading zero digit for UPC-E symbols, which is not directly encoded, is indicated by “(0)”.
D
The GTIN-12 check digit implicitly encoded in UPC-E (by the mix of number sets) is indicated by “(C)”.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
4.2.3.5 Add-on symbols
4.2.3.5.1 General
The add-on symbols were originally designed for use with EAN/UPC symbols on periodicals and paperback
books. Because they provide reduced security their use shall be limited to applications where rules in the
application specification governing data format and content provide appropriate safeguards.
4.2.3.5.2 Two digit add-on symbol
The 2-digit add-on may be used in combination with an EAN-13, UPC-A, or UPC-E symbol. The add-on is
positioned following the right quiet zone of the main symbol, and consists of the following:
⎯ add-on guard pattern;
⎯ first digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ add-on delineator;
⎯ second digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The add-on has no right guard pattern. It does not have an explicit check digit. Checking is done through the
mix of the number sets (A or B) used for the two digits. The choice of number sets is linked to the value of the
add-on number as shown by Table 6.
Table 6 — Number sets for 2-digit add-on
Value of the add-on number Left-hand digit Right-hand digit
Multiple of 4 (00, 04, 08,…, 96) A A
Multiple of 4+1 (01, 05, …, 97) A B
Multiple of 4+2 (02, 06, …, 98) B A
Multiple of 4+3 (03, 07,…, 99) B B
Figure 5 shows an example of an UPC-A bar code symbol with 2-digit add-on.
Figure 5 — UPC-A bar code symbol with 2-digit add-on
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
4.2.3.5.3 Five digit add-on symbol
The 5-digit add-on may be used in combination with an EAN-13, UPC-A, or UPC-E symbol. The add-on is
positioned following the right quiet zone of the main symbol, and consists of the following:
⎯ add-on guard pattern;
⎯ first digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ add-on delineator;
⎯ second digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ add-on delineator;
⎯ third digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ add-on delineator;
⎯ fourth digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ add-on delineator;
⎯ fifth digit of the add-on number from number sets A or B;
⎯ a right quiet zone.
The add-on has no right guard pattern. It does not have an explicit check digit. Checking is done through the
mix of the number sets (A or B) used for the five digits. A value v is determined by the following rules:
1) Sum the digits in positions 1, 3 and 5.
2) Multiply the result of step 1 by 3.
3) Sum the remaining digits (positions 2 and 4).
4) Multiply the result of step 3 by 9.
5) Sum the results of steps 2 and 4.
6) The value of v is the units position (lowest-order digit) of the result of step 5.
EXAMPLE To calculate the value of v for the add-on number 86104:
Step 1: 8 + 1 + 4 = 13
Step 2: 13 x 3 = 39
Step 3: 6 + 0 = 6
Step 4: 6 x 9 = 54
Step 5: 39 + 54 = 93
Step 6: v = 3
The number sets can then be determined by using Table 7.
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ISO/IEC 15420:2009(E)
Table 7 — Number sets for 5-digit add-on
Value of v Number sets used for symbol characters
1 2 3 4 5
0 B B A A A
1 B A B A A
2 B A A B A
3 B A A A B
4 A B B A A
5 A A B B A
6
...
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