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Introduction
The UPC-E barcode is the short form representation of a UPC
number. It reduces the data length from 12 digits to 6 digits by
compressing the extra zeros. It is suited for identifying products
in small packages.
A UPC-E barcode has 6 digits with an implied number system 0. The
first 5 digits are calculated based on a conversion algorithm
described below. The last digit is the check digit of the original
UPC-A symbol. For more information about UPC number, click here.
Conversion between UPC-A and UPC-E
Not all UPC-A numbers can be compressed to UPC-E. These codes who
have a corresponding UPC-E code must have at least 4 zeros. The
rules are:
- If the manufacturer code ends with 000, 100, or 200, the UPC-E
code consists of the first two characters of the manufacturer
code, the last three characters of the product code, followed by
the third character of the manufacturer code. Under this case,
The product code must be 00000 and 00999.
- If the manufacturer code ends with 00 but does not meet the #1
requirement, The UPC-E code consists of the first three
characters of the manufacturer code, the last two characters of
the product code, followed by digit ¡°3¡±. The product code
can only contain two digits(00000 to 00099).
- If the manufacturer code ends in 0 but non of the above
qualifies, the UPC-E consists of the first four digits
manufacturer code and the last digit of the product code,
followed by the digit ¡°4¡±. The product code in this case can
only contain one digit(00000 to 00009).
- If the manufacturer code ends with non-zero digit, the UPC-E
code consists of the manufacturer code and the last digit of the
product code. In this case the product case can only be one from
00005 to 00009 because 0 to 4 has been used for the above four
cases.
Check Digit Calculation
The UPC-E check digit has the same value of the check digit on
the equivalent UPC-A number. If you do not have the UPC-A number you
need to reverse the conversion process, get
the UPC-A, then calculate the check digit using the algorithm
described in UPC-A specification.
Encoding
A UPC-E symbol has the following structure:
- Start guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar.
- Left halve, five digits calculated from the equivalent UPC
number.
- Check digit.
- Stop guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar.
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