A barcode is a technology that represents data in a visual, machine-readable form. 1D Retail barcodes use alternating black and white bars to represent an encoded string of unique numbers. This can be read and decoded using an optical scanner to recall information about a product such as the price, product name and brand.
EAN-13 means International Article Number (previously European Article Number) and is 13 digits long.
UPC-A means Universal Product Code and is 12 digits long.
The primary barcode format used in India is EAN-13. This is the international standard outside of North America. The 12 digit subset UPC-A can also be used in India and internationally even though this format was originally intended for North America (United States and Canada).
EAN-13 and UPC-A barcodes are suitable for all retail products with the exception of books & magazines (ISBN & ISSN) and Pharmaceuticals (Pharmacodes).
Barcode requirements are set by retailers, not a governing authority. While not mandatory almost every retailer today requires barcodes on stocked products. Barcodes help retailers organise their pricing, ordering, sales figures, point of sale and inventory. An EAN-13 barcode is a common requirement on all products in a retailer’s inventory within India and globally. To make sure your product can reach the widest market available it is strongly recommended that you acquire a barcode for your product.
An EAN-13 or UPC-A barcode is required for every unique item that you intend to sell. Product variations also each require a unique barcode, e.g. if you sell socks in different sizes and colours then a separate barcode would be required for each variant of those socks.
You will first need to include your barcode image on your product packaging. Then when you supply your product to a retailer, you will be required to complete a product information form which links your product and company details to that product’s unique barcode number. The store will transfer this information into their sales and inventory systems allowing your product to be scanned at point of sale and monitored by stock tracking software.
See our User Guide for a step by step of code assignment.
Barcodes Saver’s codes originate with the UCC (now known as GS1), and will be accepted by a vast majority of retail stores within India and around the globe. However, we always encourage you to contact retailers you intend to stock and make enquires about their barcode policies before making a purchase with us.
No barcode re-seller can guarantee universal acceptance. This is because retailers can set guidelines and policies at their own discretion. That said we have thousands of clients using our barcodes in stores globally without any issues.
Our packages of 10, 100 and 1000 barcodes will include a globally unique company prefix with a product allocation range of 0 – 9, 00 – 99, and 000 – 999 respectively. All other packages and single barcode packages do not include this feature, however all barcodes we supply are globally unique. See our Company Prefix page for further information.
Buying a barcode and registering membership with GS1 India is overwhelmingly expensive for most small business owners and traders. The Indian branch of GS1 requires the payment of initial membership fees plus ongoing yearly subscription charges that total hundreds and thousands of dollars – even when you are simply purchasing a single barcode.
Our barcodes originate with the Uniform Code Council (now GS1) but incur no additional fees, subscription charges or hidden costs of any kind. We have obtained bulk quantities of pre-subscription GS1 barcodes thus passing the savings onto our customers.
Yes. Once assigned your barcode is globally unique and linked to your product only. All barcodes sold by Barcode Savers India originate from GS1 (formerly UCC), are guaranteed to be globally unique and are supplied with a certificate of authenticity. All our numbers are unused and unassigned prior to purchase.
Nothing other than numerical information is actually stored in the barcode itself. The barcode is simply a unique number identifier that is recorded in a retailers sales/inventory system and assigned to your item.
Yes. Our barcodes are supplied at 100% GS1 specification size (37.29mm x 25.93) however we are able to resize your codes upon request at no extra charge to your order. Generally GS1 advises a minimum of 80% of the standard size however our customers have had success with smaller sizes.
Most Omni-directional scanners read barcodes from several angles. This means that if the code is truncated only one out of three scans will detect the code. Imagine two diagonal lines and one straight line reading the code, the straight line will read the code in full and the diagonal ones will miss because they cannot see the entire code. This is why GS1 recommends only an 80% magnification of the original size (37.29mm x 25.93). Therefore truncated barcodes can scan, but not always the first try which can become a hassle for your retailers.
The barcodes supplied by Barcode Savers India start in the 060 – 089 number range. These barcodes are GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers) of UCC/GS1 origin and are suitable for use on products in India and worldwide.
The 890 series barcodes are only available legally through direct GS1 India membership. 890 however does not mean “Made in India” and are not a mandatory requirement for products sold in India. Ongoing annual fees are required to maintain 890 barcode numbers with GS1 India which can be costly for small businesses and start ups. Our 060 – 089 barcodes do not carry any annual fees and can be used in India and globally.
Note: Claims that a barcode can show the origin of a product are not true according to GS1’s own documentation. See our 890 barcodes page for further clarification.
No. Barcodes purchased from Barcode Savers India will never expire. When you purchase your barcodes from us they are yours for life without the need for renewal fees. This is because the barcodes we supply pre-date GS1’s annual subscription model.
No. There are no barcode re-sellers who can add your company information to GS1’s GEPIR. The Uniform Code Council (UCC now GS1) origin barcodes we supply are no longer managed by GS1 who do not update GEPIR records after the first holder of the barcodes. Additionally GS1’s GEPIR database only shows company information of the first holder, not product data. GEPIR does not show any product description of a given barcode number. GEPIR is not used to link product data with store databases. See How to Register and User Guide.
We suggest the below alternative databases to GEPIR to make your product data available online. Using these databases also helps prevent unauthorized use of your barcode numbers.
https://gtinlookup.org/
https://upcdatabase.org/
When you purchase barcodes from The Global Standards Body GS1 India you are required to pay upfront charges and additional yearly fees. If you’re only looking for barcodes for a small number of items the costs associated with GS1 membership can be staggering. Barcode Savers India have secured large quantities of genuine UPC numbers in bulk and charge a once off fee when you buy. You remain the sole owner of your numbers and they do not carry annual fees or hidden costs at all.
Yes, we offer ITF-14 barcodes as part of our Special Orders service. Please feel free to contact us if you require carton codes to accompany your product codes.
Visit our purchase page to select your barcode package to get started. Please ensure you have read our conditions of sale before making a purchase with us.