About the Type A UPC
This is a work in progress...The basic UPC code, referred to as Type A, is composed of twelve digits. These twelve digits are broken up into the four groups described below:
- Number System Character (NSC)
- The first digit represents the 'number system' of the UPC code. Most 'normal' products use number system zero (0), but several other number systems are also in use.
- Manufacturer Code
- The next five digits represent a 'manufacturer code.' Manufacturer codes are given out by the Uniform Code Council (UCC).
- Product Code
- The next five digits correspond to a specific product, and are issued by the manufacturer of the product. The meaning of these numbers are different for the UPC codes used on coupons.
- Check Digit
- The last digit is used to check the integrity of the other digits in the number. The calculation is relatively simple.
- Calculating the Check Digit
- Assume the Number System Character is 'A', the
Mfr Code is 'BCDEF', and the Product Code is 'GHIJK'. Calculate A + C + E
+ G + I + K, multiply that by 3, then add B + D + F + H + J. The check
digit is how much you have to add to that number to make it a multiple of ten.
An example: The UPC 04042100192X, where X is the check digit that we don't know. We calculate (0 + 0 + 2 + 0 + 1 + 2) * 3 + (4 + 4 + 1 + 0 + 9) = 33. The check digit (X) is then 7, since we can add 7 to 33 and get a multiple of ten (40).