Barcodes..? Where / how to purchase?

[LDN]

I'm looking at releasing a couple of products in future and want to get my head around barcodes. I note that GS1 do an annual fee but I'd rather just buy the codes as and when I need them. Is there a way?

Also, are barcodes able to be company specific - I.e: I don't want a resellers company to be associated to my codes. I'd rather they were 'mine' if that makes sense.

Not sure how they work; any tips appreciated. Thanks

[andyb28]

Might be better to use QR codes, you can do them yourself for free.

[BoRED S2upid]

Yes they have to be company / product specific it kallogs cornflakes has it's own barcode that can't be used by any other product. You must be able to buy them from somewhere.

[Ultuous]

As a pointer (until someone who knows more about the subject comes along) have a look at EAN/UPC barcodes - I believe that's what's required for retail (I'm in manufacturing which uses completely different standards, so that's the extent of my knowledge on the subject! )

[otherman]

GS1 is the official UK way to go. I pay £268 per annum for 1000 codes. They have to be annually licensed, you can't just buy and keep them forever. If you want to work on a shoestring you can buy blocks from ebay for a few quid, but I don't know how long they'd stay valid.

[LDN]

Thanks for al of the replies. I have signed up to GS1 UK and have been assigned our company number and 1000 number bank.

Next question; best way to print labels? I see a lot of barcode specific printers that appear to print one label a time... I would rather be printing sheets of barcodes than one at a time... any advice?

I see some MS Word related software for printing codes but I'm dubious...

[randlemarcus]

A barcode is just a specifically formatted picture, so anything will print it - on the cheap, look at Avery labels from your local stationery store, and Word has templates for most of those. It will look cheap though. Better to include the barcode on the packaging design itself (and for gods sake dont use those awful blister packs that needs tin snips to open )

[chadders74]

Google truetype barcode font, download, drop in your Windows fonts folder and then just select the font in MS Word (or whatever you want to use) and print labels out that way.