GS1-128 Barcode

GS1-128 is another name for the UCC/EAN 128 trade barcode. It was developed to provide a worldwide format and standard for exchanging common data between companies. Apart from encoding the data, it also encodes the meaning of the data. GS1-128 is used widely in shipping and logistics and includes a list of "Application Identifiers" (AI) to describe what the data represents.

Application Identifier (AI)

An Application Identifier is a numeric prefix used to describe the meaning and the format of the data that follows it. The AI tells the reading system how to interprete the data. For example, a prefix of (01) means the barcode is a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) , while a prefix of (00) means the barcode is a SSCC (Serial Shipping Container Code). Various types of AIs have been defined for identification, dates, quantity, traceability, measurements, locations, and many other types of information. The data following the AI may be alphanumeric or numeric.

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