Universal Product Code

Universal Product Code

The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a barcode symbology that is widely used in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries for tracking trade items in stores. The UPC consists of 12 numeric digits that are uniquely assigned to each trade item.

Example of a UPC-A barcode

History

The concept of the UPC was developed by George J. Laurer at IBM in 1973. The first UPC-marked item ever scanned at a retail checkout was a pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum, at the Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974.

Structure

The UPC is composed of several parts:

• Number System: The first digit of the UPC indicates the type of product.
• Manufacturer Code: The next five digits are the manufacturer code, which is assigned by the Uniform Code Council.
• Product Code: The following five digits are the product code, which is assigned by the manufacturer.
• Check Digit: The final digit is a check digit, used to verify that the UPC is scanned correctly.

Standard UPC-A barcode

Variants

UPC-A

The standard version of the UPC is the UPC-A, which consists of 12 digits. It is the most common form of the UPC and is used for most retail products.

UPC-A barcode with quiet zone

UPC-E

The UPC-E is a compressed version of the UPC-A, which is used for smaller packages where space is limited. It consists of 8 digits and is used to encode the same information as a UPC-A.

Example of a UPC-E barcode

Encoding

The UPC barcode is encoded using a series of black and white bars. Each digit is represented by a unique pattern of bars and spaces. The barcode includes start and stop patterns, as well as a middle pattern that separates the left and right halves of the barcode.

UPC-A barcode with start and stop patterns

Applications

UPCs are used in retail stores to automate the checkout process and to track inventory. They are scanned at the point of sale to retrieve the price and other information about the product from a database.

Related pages

• Barcode
• EAN-13
• QR code

UPC-A barcode with left guard pattern

See also

• Global Trade Item Number
• International Article Number