UCC/EAN 128 Barcode

UCC/EAN 128 barcode was developed to provide a worldwide format and standard for exchanging common data between companies. Other than encoding data, it also encodes what that data represents. UCC/EAN 128 has a list of "Application Identifiers" (AI).

What is an EAN.UCC Application Identifier (AI)?

An Application Identifier is a prefix used to identify the meaning and the format of the data that follows it (data field). AIs have been defined for identification, traceability data, dates, quantity, measurements, locations, and many other types of information. The data presented can be alphanumeric or numeric.

Each AI tells the system what kind of data will follow and in what format. For example, AI 320 indicates that the data that follows is a net weight in pounds. It is used to encode shipping/product information.

More details on UCCEAN 128 barcode

UCCEAN 128 barcode contains a special character known as FNC 1, which follows the start character of the bar code. It enables scanners and processing software to differentiate between UCCEAN 128 and other barcodes.

The UCCEAN 128 barcode is made up of a leading quiet zone, a Code 128 based start character A, B, or C, a FNC 1 character, Data (Application Identifier plus data field), a symbol check character, a stop character, and a trailing quiet zone.

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