Choosing goods in the store, each of us tries to select high-quality products of domestic or foreign production. To do this, it is not at all necessary to ask the seller to present you a quality certificate, just look at the markings. But how is a manufacturer identified by a barcode? What to look for? And what is the meaning of the numbers on the code?
Barcode General Information
Like a zebra, a barcode is a sequence of black and white stripes of different widths and lengths. It contains numbers arranged in a specific order and having a specific meaning. Recognize this "encrypted message" used to mark a variety of products, help special devices - scanners. They help to identify the manufacturer by barcode. However, as a rule, only sellers and employees of retail chains have such equipment.
There are barcodes of sequential or linear and two-dimensional type. In the first case, information is read vertically, and in the second, both vertically and horizontally. Most stores and outlets use codes of the first type, the most famous of which is the thirteen-digit marking EAN13. You can also find short codes, consisting of eight digits.
Each code is individual. At the same time, if we are talking about food products, then in this case it is possible not only to determine the manufacturer's bar code, but also to obtain certain data about the product. For example, few people know that the product code contains data on their color, weight, number of pieces in a batch, and size.
The assignment of barcodes is the responsibility of the International Association of EAN.
Why do I need a barcode on products and products?
The barcode placed on any product in stores helps control the accounting of turnover, inventory, as well as control the sale of a specific batch of products. In particular, each buyer is faced with a scanner when it is suitable for paying for goods at the checkout. It is thanks to the code that the cashier can find the manufacturer by the barcode, and also sees the name of the product and its cost.
How is a barcode applied to products?
The barcode, as a rule, is on the product packaging or on the product itself. At the same time, it can be applied either typographically or artificially attached using an adhesive base. In addition, for convenience, some stores use their own recognition markings, which significantly reduces the chances of knowing the real manufacturer of a particular product.
What is the meaning of the numbers in the barcode?
Determining the manufacturer by the barcode is quite difficult, but possible if you know the meaning of the numbers. So, for example, the first 2-3 digits indicate the code of the country of manufacture, the next 4 are the company code of the manufacturer, another 5 digits indicate the presence of a product code, and the last is a control mark of the goods. In addition, an icon similar to the mathematical ">" sign may also be present at the end of the code. It stands for certified products. But even on exclusive products this icon is not always there.
For greater convenience, you can print and carry a code plate that relates to certain countries of the world. For example, the code “777” is characteristic for Bolivia, “869” for Turkey, “890” for India, “84” for Spain, “80-83” for Italy, “690-693” for China, and “Poland” 590 ”, etc.For example, the bar code of Velvet Pens hand cream looks like this: 460072088618, where the first three digits (460) indicate that the country of origin is Russia (it is characterized by the code “460-469”). Thus, the manufacturer by the barcode is recognized by the first three digits indicated on the plate.
How to check a barcode without a scanner?
If you want to know the country of manufacture of the goods you are purchasing, but you don’t have a scanner, or you do not plan to remember a long table with a code designation, you can do this in other ways. For example, a barcode manufacturer is easily identified using special online services.
To do this, enter the code you are interested in in a special empty window and click on the “Recognize” button. For example, enter the barcode of a regular ballpoint pen: 836449800017. After a short search, we get the following data:
- country of origin - Italy;
- national organization EAN / UCC - INDICOD (Italy).
In addition, you can check the manufacturer using a barcode without entering numbers manually using a variety of mobile applications. For example, the following scanners can be attributed to similar ones:
- Virtual QR scanner.
- Barcode Scanner.
- Portable barcode scanner (Nelson Pires).
- Radio barcode scanner "Demo" and others.
The principle of their action is quite simple. One has only to download a special program on your smartphone or phone, run it and bring the code of any product to the camera, as it recognizes it and gives the result. Some applications have a highly specialized purpose. For example, a radar scanner. It helps to narrow the search for a manufacturer by the barcode of drugs entered in the State Register of Medicines.
Accordingly, if the code was not recognized by this service, then such a medicine was simply not entered into the register of medicines. It is interesting that after scanning medicines, the application’s information becomes available not only about the manufacturer, but also about the medicine as a whole.
Some applications make it possible not only to read the code, but also with its help to control the inventory. For example, this is how a Wi-Fi scanner works with the ability to enter data on balances into an Exel file.
Why is a manufacturing country sometimes not true?
It often happens that on the price tag and packaging one country of origin is indicated, for example, Germany, and when identifying by code, it turns out to be completely different. In this situation, there may be several reasons why the manufacturer by the barcode differs from the one stated on the package.
For example, the most common of these is registration. So, the manufacturer can register the code not in the real country of its production, but in the one where it most often exports its products. The second reason is the registration of raw materials not on the main, but on a subsidiary of the organization. This also includes the manufacture of goods at subsidiary factories.
In addition, the country of manufacture by barcode may differ from the real one due to the manufacture of commodity units in one state, and the receipt of a license for a product in another. Also, the mismatch is a clear evidence of defective or uncertified products, fakes. And, finally, the founders of the company, who are citizens of another country, may be to blame.
How to distinguish fake from original products?
Often, scanning a product or manually checking it with a code helps determine how genuine a product is. And the check digit at the end of the code will help you recognize the fake. To do this, you need to perform certain mathematical actions. As a basis, we take the barcode of the following sample: 482002470001 6. Next, we conditionally divide the entire code into “first - second” (excluding the last value) and add up all the numbers that turn out to be “second”. We get the following expression: 8 + 0 + 2 + 7 + 0 + 1 = 18.After that, multiply the resulting number by “3” and get: 18 x 3 = 54.
Then, before the country of origin is determined by the barcode, we summarize all the numbers that turned out to be “first”: 4 + 2 + 0 + 4 + 0 + 0 = 10. Now we add the sums obtained from adding the “first” and “second "Groups of numbers. We get: 54 + 10 = 64. And, finally, take the nearest multiple of 64, a multiple of 10 (70), and subtract 64. We get - 6. That is, The country of manufacture in our example corresponds to that indicated on the package. In this case, the barcode is the same.
Can I verify the authenticity of the code online?
In addition to his own calculations, each user will be able to check the code online. To do this, he needs to log into the appropriate resource, fill in the code fields and click on the "Check" button. As a result, you can get a response to the request in the form: "The barcode is genuine" or "The code is not genuine."
Where is the barcode used in everyday life?
Coding of commercial products is carried out by manufacturing enterprises. Similar operations are performed by those companies that want to minimize human participation in the manufacturing process. Due to the fact that the barcode allows you to save the company from the so-called human factor, it is possible to eliminate errors that occur when entering the product item in manual mode. Therefore, encoding is used in the following cases:
- when recounting goods in stock;
- during inventory;
- during product packaging;
- in employee registration systems (at the entrance and exit of workers through the checkpoint);
- when reading product data during cash transactions;
- when installing promotional offers, the introduction of discounts and gift promotions;
- when identifying products on the shelves;
- in case of marking bulky goods and postal parcels.
How much information can I add to a barcode?
The amount of information that can be embedded in a barcode directly depends on the selected code and its requirements. For example, a thirteen-digit and eight-digit code is limited in number of characters. Codes of the Code 39 and 128 standard, on the contrary, open up unlimited possibilities for manufacturers. As a rule, the optimum maximum length is considered to be a scale with encrypted characters from 20 to 64. Two-dimensional code, however, provides for the introduction of more than 1600 characters.
What devices can be used to read the barcode?
It is possible to read the encrypted code using portable and laser scanners capable of performing their functions from a distance of 60 cm. Cash registers themselves, which have an HK reading system, as well as special pens and pencil scanners, laser guns, etc., are endowed with similar options. .
In conclusion, we say that if you plan to check the product barcode for authenticity or find out the country of origin from it, choose the method that suits you.
