How to implement Gs1 barcode?
Your most important implementation resource for bar code identification is Gs1 Egypt as the sole representative of GS1 in Egypt. The following Steps of barcode implementation will take new bar code users through the basics they must take to begin using bar codes.
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Ten Steps to Bar Code Implementation
Step 1: Get a GS1 Barcode numbers range
GS1 barcodes are used to uniquely identify products, services, assets and everything related to the supply chain. To obtain a GS1 barcode, contact the GS1 Egypt.
Telefax: 22627617 /24026623
Email: info@gs1eg.org
Address: 35 hadayek el obour buildings, salah salem, Cairo, Egypt
Website: http://www.gs1eg.org/
Contact us form
Step 2: Assign Numbers
After receiving GS1 barcode numbers, GS1 Egypt can provide you with specific information about how you can assign barcode numbers to your trade items (products or services) based on the number of your products. (Gs1Egypt’s EXCEL sheet for assigning numbers)
Step 3: Select a Bar Code Printing Company
To begin, you should decide what you are bar coding and if the bar code will carry static or dynamic information inside it.
Static information: a product identification number (GTIN) on a cereal box.
Dynamic information: printing serial numbers on product labels.
a) If your bar code has static information and you need a large volume of labels then you will likely ask a printing company to print your labels. (contacts are available at GS1 Egypt)
b) If you need a small volume of labels or need to print labels with dynamic information you will likely need an on-demand printer like a laser printer in your office or thermal transfer printer in your warehouse.
Knowing how you will print your bar code is an important question to answer in developing a good bar code implementation plan. Again, GS1 Egypt is there to assist you in making the right selection and can also help you find a printer in your local area in a decent cost.
Step 4: Select a "Primary" Scanning Environment
The specifications for bar code type, size, placement, and quality all depend on where the bar code will be scanned.
There are four basic scanner environment scenarios for trade items:
- Product package scanned at the retail point-of-sale (POS).
- Product package scanned in a general distribution.
- Product package scanned at POS but also scanned in distribution.
- Special environments like medical device marking.
By knowing where your bar code will be scanned you can establish the right specifications for its production. For example, if a product package is scanned at Point-of-Sale (POS) and in general distribution, you will need to use an EAN/UPC symbol to accommodate POS but print it in a larger size to accommodate distribution scanning and ensure the placement meets automated distribution scanning requirements.
Step 5: Select a Bar Code
Selecting the right bar code is critical to the success of your bar code implementation plan, but here are some high level tips:
- If you bar code a trade item that will be scanned at the retail point-of-sale (POS), you must use an EAN/UPC symbol.
- If you are printing a bar code with variable information like serial numbers, expiry dates, or measures, then you will use GS1-128, Reduced Space Symbology, or in special cases Composite Component or Data Matrix symbols.
- If you just want to print a bar code carrying GTIN on a corrugated carton, ITF-14 may be the choice for you.
There are other factors to consider so contact GS1 Egypt to see what implementation products and services they offer.
Step 6: Pick a Bar Code Size
After the correct bar code symbol is specified together with the information to encode in it, the design stage begins. The size of the symbol within the design will depend on the symbol specified, where the symbol will be used, and how the symbol will be printed.
EAN/UPC Symbols
EAN/UPC Symbols differ from ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols because they are scanned by retail omni-directional scanners. This means that EAN/UPC Symbols have a fixed relationship between symbol height and width. When one dimension is modified, the other dimension should be altered by a proportional amount.
Because of this relationship, EAN/UPC Symbols have a nominal height and width specified. A range of allowable sizes from 80% to 200% of the nominal size are also specified and a figure showing the range of dimensions can be found in GS1 General Specifications, contact gs1 Egypt for. This range of sizes is often referred to as ""magnification factors"" on purchase orders specifying EAN/UPC Symbol sizes. The minimum, nominal, and maximum magnification for EAN/UPC Symbols are shown in Figure 1.3.1-1.
EAN/UPC Magnification
| Minimum (80%) |
Nominal (100%) |
Maximum (200%) |
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In order to decrease the amount of space EAN/UPC Symbols take up on a design, a decreased symbol height might be specified. This process, called truncation, is not permitted within EAN/UPC Symbology specifications and should be avoided. This is because of the negative impact it has on scan rates for retail omni-directional scanners. For more information on truncation, refer to the GS1 General Specifications, available at GS1 Egypt
When EAN/UPC Symbols are used in logistics (shipping and distribution) as well as at the Point-of-Sale (POS), the range of magnification allowed is limited to between 150% and 200%. An example of this would be the symbol on a carton used for a large appliance (e.g. TV or microwave oven).
ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols
ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols also have a range of sizes specified. ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbol sizes are often specified by the width of the X-Dimension instead of magnification values. You can find information on the sizes for ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols based on the application where they are used or the identification number they carry in GS1 General Specifications, Section 5.4.2 (available at GS1 Egypt)
As always, be sure to contact GS1 Egypt for additional implementation guidance.
Step 7: Format the Bar Code Text
The text beneath a bar code is important because if the bar code is damaged or of poor quality to begin with, then the text is used as a back-up.
Text size:
a) For EAN/UPC Symbols, any font as long as it is clearly legible.
b) For ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols, it must be clearly legible and in a size proportional to the symbol size Text Location: a) For EAN/UPC Symbols, refer to the drawings in the GS1 General Specifications Section 5.1, Appendix 6.
b) For ITF-14 and GS1-128 Symbols, the text can be printed above or below the symbol
Text spacing:
Including spaces is perfectly appropriate for the Human Readable Interpretation as it makes the text easier to read, remember, and key enter but it must not be encoded into ITF-14 or GS1-128 Symbols.
Number of digits in the Human Readable text:
a) For UPC-A Symbol, print 12 digits, no more, no less, without exception.
b) For EAN-13 Symbol, print 13 digits, no more, no less, without exception.
c) For UPC-E and EAN-8 Symbols, print eight digits, no more, no less, without exception.
Step 8: Pick a Bar Code Color
The optimum color combination for a bar code symbol is black bars with a white background (spaces and Quiet Zones). If you want to use other colors, the following may help you in choosing satisfactory ones:
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GS1 Bar Code Symbols require dark colors for bars (e.g., black, dark blue, dark brown or dark green).
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The bars should always consist of a single line color and should never be printed by multiple imaging tools (e.g., plate, screen, and cylinder).
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GS1 Bar Code Symbols require light backgrounds for the Quiet Zones and spaces (e.g., white).
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In addition to light backgrounds, ""reddish"" colors may also be used. If you have ever been in a darkroom with red lighting and tried to read red copy, you know it can virtually disappear. This is also true of similar colors such as orange, pink, peach, and light yellows. Given the fact that most bar code scanners use a red light source, you can quickly see why these colors may be suitable for backgrounds, but should be avoided for bars.
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In many cases the symbol background is not printed. It is the color of the substrate that is being printed. If the symbol background is printed beneath the bars, the background should be printed as solid line colors.
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If you use multiple layers of ink to increase the background opacity, each layer should be printed as a solid.
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If you use a fine screen to deliver more ink to the substrate, be sure there are no voids in the print caused by the screen not adequately filling in.
Again, by staying with black bars and white spaces, you have selected the optimal combination, but other color combinations can be used. Consult an experienced printer recommended by GS1 Egypt for additional guidance.
Step 9: Pick the Bar Code Placement
You have to be sure that the symbol will not be obscured or damaged (e.g., over a carton edge, beneath a carton fold, beneath a package flap, or covered by another packaging layer).
To determine the proper location for GS1 bar codes, see the following sections of the GS1 General Specifications (available at GS1 Egypt):
Printing orientation:
After determining the proper placement, the printing company should be consulted before assigning the symbol rotation. This is because many printing processes require bar codes to be printed in a specific orientation to the feed direction of the web or sheet.
If possible, when using flexography printing, the bars should run parallel to the press web direction or in the picket fence orientation. If the bars are required to run perpendicular to the press direction or in the ladder orientation, try to avoid distorting the symbol for the plate roll circumference.
When using either silk screen or rotogravure printing processes, the symbol should be aligned parallel to the cell structure on the screen or gravure plate cylinder to provide the smoothest bar edge possible.
For more information or to obtain a copy of the GS1 General Specifications, contact GS1 Egypt.
Step 10: Bar Code Quality assurance
GS1 Egypt offers its members a free barcode quality verification services enabling 100% barcode readability at any POS.
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