Lexmark C950 Forms and Bar Code Card Technical Reference Guide - Page 61

UPC-E uses the "left-hand odd" and "left-hand even" encoding character sets from the EAN-13 encoding standard. Check character 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Number system 0 encoding EEEOOO EEOEOO EEOOEO EEOOOE EOEEOO EOOEEO EOOOEE EOEOEO EOEOOE EOOEOE Number system 1 encoding OOOEEE OOEOEE OOEEOE OOEEEO OEOOEE OEEOOE OEEEOO OEOEOE OEOEEO OEEOEO The check digit is encoded in the parity of the other six characters; it does not have to be encoded explicitly. This check digit is the check digit from the original UPCA bar code. UPC-E may only be used if the number system is 0 or 1. The characters are encoded with odd and even parity from the left-hand columns of the EAN-13 character. The parity used for each character depends on the number system (0 or 1) and the check digit from the original UPC-A bar code. 3 EAN-8 (including +2 and +5 variants) EAN-8 is the EAN equivalent of UPC-E in the sense that it provides a short bar code for small packages. It is shorter than an EAN-13 bar code, but longer than an UPC-E bar code. EAN-8 explicitly encodes all eight digits; the parity of the digits carries no particular significance, thus, EAN-8 has absolutely no compatibility with UPC-E. An EAN-8 bar code is a 2- or 3-digit number system code followed by a 4- or 5-digit product code. The EAN-8 product codes are assigned directly by the numbering authority. This has the advantage that any company can request an EAN-8 code regardless of its EAN-13 manufacturer or product code. It has the disadvantage that the EAN-8 codes must be stored in each database as a separate product since there is no way to translate an EAN-8 code to an EAN-13 equivalent. An EAN-8 bar code has the following physical structure: a Left-hand guard bars, or start sentinel, encoded as 101 b Two number system characters, encoded as left-hand odd-parity characters c First two message characters, encoded as left-hand odd-parity characters d Center guard bars, encoded as 01010 e Last three message characters, encoded as right-hand characters Composite bar codes 58