An EAN (European Article Number) barcode is a specific type of barcode that has been developed for use in shops and supermarkets. An EAN barcode is labelled or printed on each product, which when read at the checkout will retrieve the price from a central database and update customer and stock information (within software). An EAN barcode is made up of 13 numbers - EAN 13 (or 8 for smaller products such as jewellery - EAN 8). These numbers comprise of the country code, a company code, a product code and a check digit. In order to produce your own EAN barcodes for products that you produce, you will need to register with GS1 who control the numbering. Creating EAN barcodes with software EAN barcodes can be generated through barcode label software which will also allow you to produce a design for your labels. Barcode software is typically available in basic, professional and networked versions, limited software is often supplied with the printer which will allow basic designs to be created. If you are creating your EAN barcodes from a database then you will need professional barcode software. There is also an Open-Source Barcode Generator for EAN-13 (C++, VB, Excel Macros, etc.) available to download online. For more information on printing or creating EAN barcodes please e-mail [email protected] or call us on 01536 414222.