WORTH DATA DOES NOT PROVIDE UPC NUMBERS - We can print them and read them for you!

A question we hear quite often at at Worth Data is "I need UPC bar codes for my products. Can I print them myself?" Of course you can and Worth Data can help!

We have a great solution for printing UPC codes:

LabelRIGHT™ Ultimate for Windows® is a full-featured label design program that lets you design and print labels on a windows printer, whether it be a laser, inkjet, thermal transfer, or dot matrix. LabelRIGHT is especially good for creating custom shipping and product labels and printing high volumes on a laser printer. It also includes our powerful BarFont™ tools for placing perfect UPC codes in other Font based programs. The new Ultimate version of LabelRIGHT also offers the graphic output of individual barcodes, or entire label designs in PDF, EPS, TIFF, JPEG or BMP format.

If you sell products to a distributor or directly to a retail outlet for retail sale, you probably will need a UPC number. Most large retailers require one in order to sell your items. Most retailers will also tell you if a UPC number is required and what your product labeling requirements are. If you are selling to a local store you may not need one, and if you are using it for your own inventory you certainly do not need a UPC number - just use another type of barcode like Code 39 or Code 128 to print your product numbers.

In order to get a UPC number, you must apply for membership to the GS1 US (formerly the Uniform Code Council) . There is a fee for membership and it is based upon the information you provide about your company on the on-line application. Two of the key factors that are considered are sales volume/revenue and numbering capacity needs. You can apply online, by phone, or by fax. The contact information for the GS1 US is:

GS1 US
7887 Washington Village Drive,
Suite 300
Dayton, OH 45459
Telephone: (937) 435-3870 Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST
Fax: (937) 435-7317
Email: info@gs1us.org
website: http://www.gs1us.org

WORTH DATA DOES NOT PROVIDE UPC NUMBERS - We can print them and read them for you!

If you buy products in a retail environment, then you are familiar with the bar codes you see on most products in any of your local retail stores. This is called a UPC-A code, is 12 digits long and looks something like this:

The first character in the bar code is called the "Number System Character" or NSC. For UPC-A, this number is usually 0, 6 or 7. The number in the example is "0".

The next 5 numbers are the "UCC Company Prefix". In the bar code sample to the left, this is the number "12345". This is a unique 5 digit number assigned to a manufacturer by the Uniform Code Council. This number will represent the manufacturer on all of their products as well as in any EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) applications.

The second set of 5 numbers is the number used to reference that specific product. It is called an "Item Reference Number". This number is not assigned by the Uniform Code Council. This number is up to the manufacturer and is often assigned in a random manner. In the example bar code above, the Item Reference Number is "67890".

The last number is a check digit calculated from the previous 11 digits. It is not randomly assigned. Most bar code printing programs will calculate this check digit for you. The check digit for the example above is "5".