UPC-E

Read and Generate Code 39 barcodes online. You can test the quality of Aspose.BarCode functionality and view results.

Overview

The UPC-E barcode is a Universal Product Code, the most widely used barcode in the United States. UPC-E is a variation of UPC-A, which allows for a more compact barcode by eliminating “extra” zeros. As the resulting UPC-E barcode is about half the size as an UPC-A barcode, UPC-E is generally used on products with very small packaging where a full UPC-A barcode could not fit.

You can find additional information of classes and properties that are used in Aspose.BarCode for linear barcode generation and recognition:

• Specific Parameters for 1D barcodes

Usage Scenarios

UPC-E is the condensed version of the standard sized UPC-A numeric barcode, used in grocery stores and other retail establishments across the country. The condensed version is used on smaller products whose packages don’t have room to place the full sized UPC-A code.

Characteristics

Encoding Character Set

This type encodes numerical digits from 0 to 9 only.

Barcode Structure

The symbol comprises the following elements:

• Leading quiet zone
• Guard pattern (start character)
• Six symbol characters
• Guard pattern (stop character)
• Trailing quiet zone

UPC-E encodes six digits of numeric message data together with a number system digit and a check digit, for a total of eight digits.

Size Dimensions

With four available printing widths for the bars and spaces instead of just two, UPC-E takes about half the number of bars and spaces relative to Interleaved 2 of 5 to represent each character. However, the use of the wider bars and spaces nullifies this space savings. Interleaved 2 of 5 codes pack data more densely than UPC-E does.

Encoding Capacity and Data Density

A UPC-E barcode is half the size of UPC-A, with 6 digits instead of 12. Other than that, the two codes are set up the same way, with a digit at the beginning to designate the type of product being scanned (regular product, coupon, weighted item, etc.) followed by a manufacturer’s code, a product code, and, finally, a check digit to ensure accuracy.

Checksum Controls

UPC-A contains a check digit that is based on the modulo 10 (mod 10) algorithm.

Advantages and Limitations

Its condensed size allows it to fit on smaller packages. It also has a check digit, to ensure accuracy when typing a code in by hand. It is only a numeric code and cannot encode letters. Additionally, the fixed length limits the amount of information that can be encoded, making it fine for supermarkets, but inadequate for communicating more detailed information.

How to Generate and Read UPC-E Barcodes

Generation Code Samples

C#

// Initialize barcode generator
using (var generator = new Aspose.BarCode.Generation.BarcodeGenerator(EncodeTypes.UPCE, "098754"))
{
  // Set parameters
  generator.Parameters.Barcode.XDimension.Millimeters *= 2;
  generator.Parameters.Barcode.CodeTextParameters.Location = CodeLocation.Below;

  // Generate image
  Bitmap res = generator.GenerateBarCodeImage();
}

Java

// Create an instance of the BarcodeGenerator class
BarcodeGenerator generator = new BarcodeGenerator(EncodeTypes.UPCA);

// Specify the barcode text
generator.setCodeText("098754");

// Specify the X-dimension 
// the smallest width of the unit of BarCode bars or spaces
generator.getParameters().getBarcode().getXDimension().setMillimeters(2);

// Set barcode text position
generator.getParameters().getBarcode().getCodeTextParameters().setLocation(CodeLocation.Below);

// Generate a barcode image
generator.generateBarCodeImage();

C++

// Initialize a BarcodeGenerator class object and set barcode text and symbology type
System::SharedPtr<BarcodeGenerator> generator = [&]
{
    auto tmp_0 = System::MakeObject<BarcodeGenerator>(EncodeTypes::UPCE, u"098754");
    // Set parameters
    tmp_0->get_Parameters()->get_Barcode()->get_XDimension()->set_Millimeters(2);
    tmp_0->get_Parameters()->get_Barcode()->get_CodeTextParameters()->set_Location(Aspose::BarCode::CodeLocation::Below);
    return tmp_0;
}();

// Generate a barcode image
System::SharedPtr<System::Drawing::Bitmap> lBmp = generator->GenerateBarCodeImage();

Recognition Code Samples

C#

// Initialize barcode reader
using (var reader = new Aspose.BarCode.BarCodeReader(<file name>, DecodeType.UPC))
{
    // Recognize barcodes in the image
    foreach (var barcode in reader.ReadBarCodes())
    {
        // Display the recognition result
        Console.WriteLine($"{barcode.CodeTypeName}: {barcode.CodeText}");
    }
}

Java

// initialize an instance of BarcodeReader passing the source image and expected type
BarCodeReader reader = new BarCodeReader(var reader = new Aspose.BarCode.BarCodeReader(<file name>, DecodeType.UPC);

// read the source barcode
while (reader.read()) {
    // print the code type & text
    System.out.println("Type: " + reader.getCodeType() + " Text: " + reader.getCodeText());
}

C++

try
{
    // Create an instance of BarcodeGenerator class 
    System::SharedPtr<BarCodeReader> reader = System::MakeObject<BarCodeReader>(<file name>, DecodeType::UPC);
    while (reader->Read())
    {
        // Display barcode text and symbology type
        System::Console::WriteLine(System::String(u"CodeText: ") + reader->GetCodeText());
        System::Console::Write(System::String(u"Symbology Type: ") + reader->GetCodeType());
    }
    reader->Close();
}
catch (System::Exception& ex)
{
    System::Console::WriteLine(ex->get_Message());
}