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Glossary Design & Media

Barcode

A barcode is a pattern of bars and gaps that encodes a number or text so a scanner can read it quickly.

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In more detail

Retail codes UPC-A (12 digits) and EAN-13 (13 digits) end in a check digit: for 590123412345 the full EAN-13 is 5901234123457. Code 128 encodes full ASCII and is common in logistics.

Try these tools

Barcode Generator

Generate a downloadable barcode (CODE128, EAN-13, or UPC) from text or numbers.

See also

  • Glossary QR code
    A QR code is a two-dimensional barcode, a square grid of dark and light modules, that stores text or a link and is read by a phone camera.
  • Glossary Checksum
    A checksum is a small value calculated from a block of data and used to detect accidental errors when the data is stored or sent.
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