What is EAN? EAN Review

Overview

EAN is divided into two types: standard version and shortened version. The standard version of the product barcode consists of 13 Arabic numerals, referred to as EAN-13 code. The shortened version of the product barcode consists of 8 digits, referred to as EAN-8 code. The first 3 digits of the EAN-13 code and the EAN-8 code are called "prefix codes", which are used to identify EAN members. They are uniformly managed and allocated by EAN, and different countries or regions have different prefix codes.

There are currently three prefix codes for China: 690, 691, and 692.

Basic structure

The EAN code consists of a prefix code, a manufacturer identification code, a product item code and a check code.

EAN-13 is what everyone commonly calls the EAN code.

The basic structure of EAN13: The EAN13 product barcode consists of a left blank area, a start character, a left data character, a middle separator, a right data character, a check character, a terminator, a right blank area and identification characters.

Example:

Take barcode 6936983800013 as an example

This barcode is divided into 4 parts, from left to right:

1-3 digits: 3 digits in total, corresponding to 693 in this barcode, which is one of China's country codes. (690--695 are the codes for mainland China, which are assigned internationally)

4-8 digits: 5 digits in total, corresponding to 69838 in the barcode, representing the manufacturer code, applied for by the manufacturer and allocated by the country

9-12: 4 digits in total, corresponding to 0001 in the barcode, representing the factory product code, determined by the manufacturer

The 13th digit: There is 1 digit in total, which corresponds to the 3 in this barcode. It is the check digit, which is calculated from the previous 12 digits according to a certain algorithm.

Domestic EAN acquisition channels

1. Purchase through official channels

2. Generator

3. Apply to join the Chinese Product Barcode System

4. Carry out brand registration. No need to fill in EAN after passing

References

• 1. How to register the Chinese EAN barcode: Douban website [reference date 2018-03-12T16:00:00.000Z]