UCC/EAN-128

UCC/EAN-128 barcode is most widely used linear barcode symbology. UCC/EAN-128 barcode is the variant of the Code 128 barcode. UCC EAN System is established by Uniform Code Council (UCC) in 1973. UCC/EAN-128 barcode is specially designed to provide worldwide standard for exchanging data between different companies. UCC/EAN-128 not only encode the data, but also provide method of defining the meaning of the data by defining a list of "Application Identifiers" (A.I.).

All UCC/EAN-128 barcode encodes an AI to indicate that what type of data is encoded. In most of cases, AI also decides the length of the data and the format of the data.Unlike other linear barcodes that simply encode data with no matter what type of data are represents, UCC/EAN-128 encodes data and ensure that what type of data is to be represents.

UCC/ EAN 128 encode data using code 128 symbology. UCC/EAN-128 barcode is a standard that defines the format of Code 128 barcode. This means that the symbology is Code 128 but the format of the data encoded within the Code 128 bar code conforms to the UCC/EAN-128 standard. UCC / EAN 128 is mainly used in retail distribution and logistics applications.

UCC/EAN-128 barcode symbol has the following nominal dimensions:

• Space is excluded from encodable char set.
• The maximum data characters that can be encoded are 48.
• Including quiet zones, the maximum physical length is 165 mm (6.5 in.).
• The minimum height of the symbol is 32 mm (1.25 in.).
• The Human Readable Text of the data must be shown below the symbol. Start, stop, function character and check digit is not shown.
• Application Identifiers (AIs) define the interpretation of data.

A UCC/EAN-128 barcode is constructed like this:

• Start code
• FNC1 character (character 102)
• Application identifier(from AI table corresponding to data to be encoded)
• Data to be encoded (format depends on AI).
• Checksum
• Stop code