Types of EAN

The 'standard' bar code used on consumer products is a thirteen digit number called an EAN-13.The first two digits identify the country of issue, the next five identify the company to whom the code has been issued, the next five identify the product, and the final digit is a check digit used by bar code scanning equipment.

Products that are too small to accommodate a standard EAN-13 may be issued an eight digit EAN-8. Like the EAN-13, the first two digits identify the country of issue and the final digit is a check digit. The remaining digits represent the product and is administed by EANAustralia. For more information please refer to the EAN Australia web site at www.ean.com.au

EAN-128's are used exclusively on trade packaging rather than on consumer units. Whereas EAN-13's and EAN-8's have a fixed interpretation, EAN-128's are more flexible. EAN-128's are of variable length and can include information such as use by dates or batch numbers. The 'Application Identifiers' (the numbers in brackets) tell the scanning equipment how to interpret the digits that follow. It is expected that the use of EAN-128's will increase as more product details are included on packaging to facilitate automatic inventory control. If batch numbers and use by dates are not required by the product, then a normal 14 digit TIN, printed on the case is required.

Refer to the ANSI Guidelines for more information.