 Introduction
The UPC-E barcode is the short form representation of a
UPC number. It reduces the data length from 12
digits to 6 digits by compressing the extra zeros. It is suited for
identifying products in small packages.
A UPC-E barcode has 6 digits with an implied number system 0. The first
5 digits are calculated based on a conversion algorithm described below.
The last digit is the check digit of the original UPC-A symbol. For more
information about UPC number, click here.
Conversion between UPC-A and UPC-E
Not all UPC-A numbers can be compressed to UPC-E. These codes who have a
corresponding UPC-E code must have at least 4 zeros. The rules are:
- If the manufacturer code ends with 000, 100, or 200, the UPC-E code
consists of the first two characters of the manufacturer code, the last
three characters of the product code, followed by the third character of
the manufacturer code. Under this case, The product code must be 00000
and 00999.
- If the manufacturer code ends with 00 but does not meet the #1
requirement, The UPC-E code consists of the first three characters of the
manufacturer code, the last two characters of the product code, followed
by digit “3”. The product code can only contain two digits(00000 to
00099).
- If the manufacturer code ends in 0 but non of the above qualifies,
the UPC-E consists of the first four digits manufacturer code and the last digit of
the product code, followed by the digit “4”. The product code in this
case can only contain one digit(00000 to 00009).
- If the manufacturer code ends with non-zero digit, the UPC-E code
consists of the manufacturer code and the last digit of the product code.
In this case the product case can only be one from 00005 to 00009 because
0 to 4 has been used for the above four cases.
We provide free web-based utilities for conversions between UPC-A and
UPC-E. Click here if you want to
perform such conversions.
Check Digit Calculation
The UPC-E check digit has the same value of the check digit on the
equivalent UPC-A number. If you do not have the UPC-A number you need to
reverse the conversion process, get
the UPC-A, then calculate the check digit using the algorithm described in
UPC-A specification.
Encoding
A UPC-E symbol has the following structure:
- Start guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar.
- Left halve, five digits calculated from the equivalent UPC number.
- Check digit.
- Stop guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar.
Web Tool
At barcode knowledge library we provide free web-based utilities for
readers to calculate check digits, performing number conversions. To
calculate UPC check digit or perfrom UPC-A/UPC-E conversion, refer to this page. If you have
purchased Morovia UPC/EAN/Bookland Font, you may consider checking out
this
page for additional utilities for character mapping.
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