How to make barcodes for your products, step by step

Do you need GS1 barcodes?

GS1 is the organisation behind the EAN and UPC barcodes printed on packaged goods. In Egypt they are issued by GS1 Egypt, which describes itself as the official provider of GTINs and EAN/UPC barcodes in Egypt. A GS1 barcode is unique worldwide, so it is the one to use when your product will be sold by other shops, supermarkets or online marketplaces.

For products that only you sell, in your own shop, you do not need GS1 barcodes. An in-store code works as long as it never clashes with a manufacturer's barcode, and the till only has to find it in your own product list.

Which numbers are safe for in-store barcodes?

GS1 sets aside ranges that are never given to a manufacturer. In its General Specifications, 13-digit numbers starting 20 to 29 are restricted circulation numbers within a geographic region, and those starting 04 are restricted circulation numbers within a company. A barcode in these ranges cannot be mistaken for a product you buy in.

Each country's GS1 office decides how its part of the 20 to 29 range is used. GS1's own summary lists GS1 Egypt's choice: numbers starting 20 to 24 are assigned by the retailer, and 25 to 29 are reserved. So in Egypt, a shop's own EAN-13 codes belong in the range 20 to 24.

In PointLit, 13-digit codes starting with 04 are kept for lot labels, so a product barcode cannot start with 04. A rule that starts your codes with 200, followed by a running number, stays inside the range GS1 Egypt gives to retailers.

EAN-13 or Code 128: which should you print?

Any shop scanner reads all of these. PointLit prints the barcode stored on each item as EAN-13, UPC-A, EAN-8 or Code 128, and picks the one that fits the code unless you choose.

Why should in-store codes use digits only?

Most shop scanners work like a keyboard: a scan types the code and presses Enter. If the till computer's keyboard is set to Arabic when a code with letters is scanned, the letters arrive as Arabic characters and the code is not found. Digits arrive the same way on either keyboard, so an EAN-13 code made only of digits is the safer choice for a shop that types in both languages.

How do you build barcodes for sizes and colours?

Give every size in every colour its own barcode, as PointLit does for products with sizes and colours. When a medium is scanned as a large, the stock of both is wrong, and the mistake only shows at the next count.

A barcode can be built from pieces that mean something: a fixed prefix, the model, a colour code and a size code, then the check digit. For example, 200, then a five-digit model number, a two-digit colour code and a two-digit size code makes 12 digits, and the EAN-13 check digit makes 13. Under EAN-13 every piece must be digits, so give each colour and size a number.

How do you make barcodes in PointLit?

1. Open Manage, then Barcode rule.
2. Build the rule from pieces, left to right: Fixed characters, Supplier code, Category code, Collection code, Model number, Attribute code for a size or colour, Sequence number and the EAN-13 check digit. A rule that ends with the check digit must build exactly 12 digits before it.
3. Check the Preview, which shows an example barcode the rule produces.
4. Set the rule Active and press Save rule. From then on, a product saved without a barcode gets one automatically.
5. If you change your codes later, open Products and use Regenerate barcodes… to rebuild barcodes from today's codes. The model number and the running number stay the same, barcodes typed by hand or printed by a maker are left alone unless you choose to replace them, and labels printed with the old barcodes must be printed again.

How do you print barcode labels that scan?

1. Open the Barcode Printer and create a label design, as the help article on printing barcode labels shows: label rolls such as 50 × 30 mm, A4 sheets of 21, 24, 40 or 65 stickers, or receipt paper.
2. Fill the print basket by scanning or searching, from Products, or straight from a goods receipt so every piece that arrived gets a label.
3. Print through the PointLit Windows app to a Windows printer or a TSPL, ZPL or ESC/POS label printer, or from a web browser through the print dialog. Arabic product names print correctly, because PointLit draws the whole label as a picture.
4. Leave a blank margin on both sides of the bars. The label designer warns when the margin is short.
5. Scan a few labels from the first batch before you print the rest.