| EAN-13 Structure (From left to right) |
|---|
| The Number System |
| Start guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar |
| The Manufacturer Code |
| Central guard bars, always with a pattern space+bar+space+bar+space |
| The Product Code |
| The Check Digit |
| End guard bars, always with a pattern bar+space+bar |
The EAN/JAN-13 is of fixed length and is similar to the UPC-A symbology, but encodes a 13th digit. Also, the 12th and 13th digits of an EAN-13 may represent a country code in its entirety or just the beginning of one, and can vary from 2 to 3 digits. The codes 00-04 and 06-09 have been assigned to the United States. The nominal height for the EAN-13 bar code is one inch. The reduced size is 80% of the nominal size.