Code UPC Barcodes explained

Code UPC (UPC stands for Universal Product Code) was the first commercially used barcode. It was developed in the early 1970's by Norman Joseph Woodland, then working for IBM. It is still used in retail mostly in the US and Canada.

Code UPC image

Sample barcode created with our barcode plugin for Adobe Illustrator.

Soon after the introduction of the UPC code in the US an enhanced version of the code, later dubbed "Code EAN" (European Article Numbering), was developed and is since used in most parts of the world.

Today the barcode UPC comes in two flavors: UPC-A carrying 11 digits plus checksum (see image) and UPC-E with 7 digits plus checksum.

Code structure

The code is constructed as follows:

1-digit. Application No (e.g. '0': Grocery)

5-digit. Manufacturer number

5-digit. Product number

UPC manufacturer numbers are maintained by the Uniform Code Council (www.uc-council.org).

More facts about this barcode

Application: Retail
Characters: Numbers 0-9
Checksum: Always
Checksum calculation: Modulo 10 with weights 1 and 3

Software to generate Code UPC-A / UPC-E

Download Software to create this barcode (Windows / Mac OS X)

See our FAQ for more informations about this barcode symbology.