Country barcode: encrypted information

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

People often don't know how to read the barcode on products they buy in stores, and these obscure black bars with spaces can tell not only about the country of origin, but also about some important product parameters.

In the symbols of this designation, a person understands only the numbers that are under the risks. What is a country barcode? This term refers to a special graphic representation of digital information. It is a collection of bars and spaces that are intended to be read by the appropriate devices. At the same time, the first two or three digits indicate the country of origin.

It is worth noting that the barcode was invented and patented in 1949 by Woodland and Silver. This invention made it possible to carry out a clearer accounting and control of material assets during their journey from the manufacturer to the consumers.

Today, the American Universal Product Code or the European coding system is most often used. The most popular is the 13-digit code, which was introduced in Europe in 1977.

In Russia, there are twobarcode type:

• European 13-digit coding system;

• barcode system for settlement and payment documentation.

What can this coding say? The country barcode is the European product number, which indicates the place where it was made. Depending on the origin of the product, the numbers under the first risks differ. It is worth noting that a special international association assigns a country barcode. It must be remembered that this code cannot include one digit.

Important: The barcode system is the same for all countries except USA and Canada. At the same time, books may have a country barcode with a so-called prefix, and some products may contain two types of coding at the same time using strokes and spaces of different thicknesses.

Buyers are always interested in the manufacturer of products. Determining the country by barcode is quite simple. It is enough to know the numbers that indicate the origin of the goods.

The barcodes of the countries of the world are very diverse. So, on the packaging of products from the USA or Canada, the first numbers are 00-09, from Germany - 400-440, Poland - 590, China - 690, and from Russia - 460-469.

It must be said that the definition of a country by a barcode is not the only information that can be obtained using this graphic image on goods. It also speaks of the company that produces the product. The barcode also indicates the individual parameters of the product itself - its name, consumer properties, dimensions andmass, ingredients and color. There is also a check digit. It serves to check the correct reading of the coding using special scanners. Sometimes another number may be entered, which indicates the production of goods under license.

Barcoding is extremely important. It helps to easily keep track of goods through a network of computers, to know the volume of their daily sales, and also to prevent the removal of unpaid products from stores and supermarkets.