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Retail Product Barcodes
UPC-A:
Virtually all retail products sold in North America use the UPC-A bar code (or UPC-E, which is just a smaller version of UPC-A). You can not make up your own UPC-A bar code number, you must pay the Uniform Code Council a fee and they assign you a range of UPC codes. (That's why no two products will ever have the same UPC code.) A UPC code assignment costs from $100 to over $1000. You can find out more by contacting the Uniform Code Council at:
Once you have been assigned a set of UPC numbers, you can either pay someone to print the bar codes for you, or you can buy software to print that barcode yourself. Our software adds the ability to print bar codes to any Windows program (that can access TrueType fonts). Our package lets you print sheets of barcode labels, add a barcode to your product packaging, or export the UPC barcode as a graphic file which can be sent to your printer or distributor. You can visit our web site and download a free evaluation version of the software to see just how this software works. Go to:
EAN-13:
Most retail products sold in Europe use the EAN-13 bar code. You can not make up your own EAN bar code number, you must pay the International Article Numbering Association a fee and they assign you your EAN code. (That's why no two products in a store will ever have the same EAN code.) A EAN code assignment costs range from $100 to over $1000. You can find out more by contacting:
Once you have been assigned a range of EAN numbers, you can either pay someone to print the bar codes for you, or you can buy software to print that barcode yourself. Our software adds the ability to print bar codes to any Windows program (that can access TrueType fonts). Our package lets you print sheets of barcode labels, add a barcode to your product packaging, or export the EAN barcode as a graphic file which can be sent to your printer or distributor. You can visit our web site and download a free evaluation version of the software to see just how this software works. Go to: