Q. I want to put retail barcodes on my products. What type of barcodes do I need and how do I go about it?

A. In Europe and most of the rest of the world, the type of barcode used mainly for this purpose is EAN13. It can be applied directly to your packaging or on a separate label.

Before you start you need to contact the e Centre (formerly the Article Number Association [ANA]) in the UK (on 0207 655 9000), or the equivalent body in your country, to obtain a registration.

Q. I've got my barcode registration. Now how do I print EAN13 barcodes?

A. If the production quantity of a product is very large, you should consider having the barcode printed on the product packaging.

Alternatively, you can print at the latest point at which the packaging becomes dedicated to that product and batch. To do this you’ll need a suitable printer, a good label printing software package and suitable labels. (See thermal transfer)

Q. How do I include the product price in the EAN13 barcode?

A. You can't. The first set of numbers in the EAN13 barcode is fixed, and is a unique reference for your company. The second part of the code has a range of numbers you can choose from to refer to individual products.

If you’re supplying products to a retail outlet, you simply provide a list of your barcode numbers with product descriptions and other details, such as cost price. The retail outlet will add this information to their price table, with the retail price.

Q. What type of computer printer do I need to print my own EAN barcodes? Can I use an inkjet?

A. The most common  printer is a thermal transfer, although a thermal inkjet can be used.