Global User Manual User guide to the main GS1 identification and barcoding standards Release 17.0, Draft, May 2016 Global User Manual Document Summary Document Item Current Value Document Name Global User Manual Document Date May 2016 Document Version 17.0 Document Issue Document Status Draft Document Description User guide to the main GS1 identification and barcoding standards Log of Changes Release Date of Change Changed By Summary of Change 11 10.03.2010 Lutfi ilteris Oney 2010 Update 12 01.04.2011 Lutfi Ilteris Oney 2011 Update 13 26.01.2012 Lutfi ilteris Oney 2012 Update 14 09.01.2013 Lutfi ilteris Oney 2013 Update 15 16.05.2014 Lutfi Ilteris Oney 2014 Update 16 03.04.2015 Lutfi ilteris Oney 2015 Update 17 1-Apr-2016 Lutfi ilteris Oney 2016 Update Disclaimer THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITH NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGMENT, FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR ANY WARRANTY OTHER WISE ARISING OUT OF THIS SPECIFICATION. GS1 disclaims all liability for any damages arising from use or misuse of this Standard, whether special, indirect, consequential, or compensatory damages, and including liability for infringement of any intellectual property rights, relating to use of information in or reliance upon this document. GS1 retains the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice. GS1 makes no warranty for the use of this document and assumes no responsibility for any errors which may appear in the document, nor does it make a commitment to update the information contained herein. GS1 and the GS1 logo are registered trademarks of GS1 AISBL. GS1 MO to include any additional disclaimer here. Release 17.0, Draft, May 2016 © 2016 GS1 AISBL Page 2 of 69 Global User Manual Table of Contents About this guide .................................................................................................. 6 1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 7 2 Basics and principles of the GS1 system ....................................................... 7 2.1 Areas of application ......................................................................................................... 7 2.2 GS1 identification keys .................................................................................................... 8 2.2.1 Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) ............................................................................ 8 2.2.2 Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC) ..................................................................... 9 2.2.3 Global Location Number (GLN) ................................................................................. 9 2.3 GS1 Application Identifiers (AIs) ..................................................................................... 10 2.4 Barcode symbologies ..................................................................................................... 11 3 Identification of trade items ....................................................................... 13 3.1 GTIN structure .............................................................................................................. 13 3.1.1 GS1 Company Prefix ............................................................................................. 13 3.1.2 Item reference ..................................................................................................... 14 3.1.3 Check digit ........................................................................................................... 14 3.1.4 Indicator digit ....................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Small products .............................................................................................................. 15 3.2.1 GTIN-8 ................................................................................................................ 15 3.2.2 GTIN-12 on a small product ................................................................................... 15 3.3 Who is responsible for numbering trade items? ................................................................. 15 3.3.1 The general rule ................................................................................................... 15 3.3.2 Exceptions ........................................................................................................... 16 3.4 What to consider when numbering a trade item? ............................................................... 16 3.4.1 The uses of the GTIN ............................................................................................ 17 3.4.2 Pre-priced items ................................................................................................... 17 3.5 What if the legal status of a brand owner changes? ........................................................... 17 3.5.1 Acquisitions and mergers ....................................................................................... 17 3.5.2 Split or spin-off .................................................................................................... 18 3.6 Lead time in re-using a GTIN .......................................................................................... 18 4 Processing the GTIN ................................................................................... 19 4.1 The content of the database ........................................................................................... 19 4.2 Transmission of product information ................................................................................ 19 4.3 How should the information be exchanged? ...................................................................... 20 4.4 When should communication occur? ................................................................................ 20 5 Barcoding trade items................................................................................. 20 5.1 Barcode production and quality ....................................................................................... 20 5.1.1 Scanning environments and printing methods .......................................................... 21 5.1.2 Sizes ................................................................................................................... 21 5.1.3 Quiet Zones ......................................................................................................... 21 5.1.4 Colours and contrast ............................................................................................. 22 5.1.5 Print quality ......................................................................................................... 22 5.1.6 Symbol placement guidelines ................................................................................. 22 Release 17.0, Draft, May 2016 © 2016 GS1 AISBL Page 3 of 69 Global User Manual 5.2 Barcode types used in GS1 system .................................................................................. 25 5.2.1 EAN/UPC symbols ................................................................................................. 25 5.2.2 ITF-14 symbol ...................................................................................................... 27 5.2.3 GS1-128 symbol ................................................................................................... 28 5.2.4 GS1 DataBar family .............................................................................................. 29 5.2.5 GS1 DataMatrix .................................................................................................... 30 5.2.6 GS1 QR Code ....................................................................................................... 31 5.3 Choosing between barcodes ........................................................................................... 32 6 Barcoding variable measure trade items ..................................................... 34 6.1 Variable measure trade items scanned at retail point-of-sale .............................................. 34 6.1.1 GTIN in a GS1 DataBar .......................................................................................... 34 6.1.2 Restricted Circulation Number in an EAN/UPC barcode ............................................... 34 6.2 Variable measure trade items not scanned at retail point-of-sale ......................................... 34 7 Identifying and barcoding trade item groupings ......................................... 35 7.1 Identification (numbering) .............................................................................................. 36 7.1.1 Independent GTINs ............................................................................................... 36 7.1.2 GTIN-14 based on GTIN of consumer unit ................................................................ 36 7.2 Allowed barcode types ................................................................................................... 37 7.3 Symbol placement guidelines on outer cases .................................................................... 37 7.4 Common problems to avoid ............................................................................................ 38 7.4.1 The same GTIN on two different items ..................................................................... 38 7.4.2 Two GTINs on one item ........................................................................................