GS1 DataBar Coupon Barcode
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Coupon barcode has been in use in retail industry for a long time (mid 1980). At first, it was UPC code with system ID 5. Since UPC code cannot hold more than 12 digits, it requires another barcode to hold the additional information like offer code, expiration date or household ID numbers. Therefore, it gets extension to UCC/EAN 128 barcode attached to it. EAN 13 barcode was also in use instead of UPC code, which starts with 99, hence called EAN 99 coupon barcode. After more than 20 years in use, now there is a need to encode more data for complex couponing, and accommodate longer company ID, and the traditional coupon code becomes less efficient and sometimes not usable at all.
Issues with old coupon:
- Cannot accommodate longer company ID: It cannot accommodate bigger Company Prefix ID: Traditional UPC/EAN Coupon code can hold company prefix with 6 digits long, but now GS1 is assigning Company Prefix that is more than 6 digits long. Therefore company holding ID number with more than 6 digits long cannot use old UPC barcode for their coupon.
- Complex offer code not possible: For marketing purposes, many complex offers are not possible to encode with old coupon barcode. For example, buy a shampoo and a conditioner, and get a hair get free.
- Frequent manual entry cause delay: In many cases, salesman needs to enter information manually with traditional coupon barcode, especially when a product is free. This manual process delays the purchase process.
- Manual entry cause error: Since old coupon cannot hold many data, information is required to enter manually and hence make the process more error prone.
- Delay and error at register is very costly: Delay at register and coupon processed wrongfully cost retailer a huge amount of money.
There are many limitations and disadvantages with the traditional UPC/EAN based coupons. In order to encounter these problems GS1 comes up with a new solution for coupon barcode. Instead of using UPC barcode and Extended UCC/EAN part, it is decided to use GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked (formerly RSS Expanded Stacked) barcode. This barcode can hold up to 74 numeric data with multiple application Identifiers, like expiration date, serial number, etc.
GS1 laid out specific instruction on how to compose new coupon data to be encoded with DataBar Expanded Stacked barcode. They plan to roll out in two phases, first interim phase where an UPC code will be intact for backward compatibility along with expanded barcode. This interim process started in 2007. By 2011, the final phase with stand alone Expanded Stacked barcode for coupon will be in fact. By 2014, everyone should adopt new GS1 coupon format.
How to compose Data for new GS1 DataBar coupon
DataBar coupon data uses application identifier, length indicator, and 7 data field to compose a continuous data. Application identifiers (AI) are 2 to 4 digits (for now) number that describes the type of data which follows. For example, AI for expiration date will be (17) and data is laid out as (17)010101 where last 6 digits are date format. AI tells the decoder what to look for following it. Length indicator, as name suggests, tells the length of a data that follows it. Sometimes it can be an offset of some number, for example, length indicator for GS1 company prefix will be an offset of 6. Therefore, if we have 1 as a length indicator, it will have a GS1 company ID which is 6 + 1= 7 digits long.
The entire coupon data has 8 Data Field, and first one is the mandatory field. The supplementary section contains data field 1 through 6 and a data field 9, each comprising of special data.
GS1 DataBar Coupon Barcode Physical Dimension
Although most coupon barcode in practice have 2 rows in Expanded Stacked barcode, but in general this barcode can have 1 to 10 rows, which might look ugly. As the data gets longer Expanded stacked barcode increases its row number. You can increase segment per row variable to make it wider and fit into 2 rows.
It is recommended that Expanded Stacked barcode uses 34 times of its XDimension as its row height. XDimension, again is the width of the narrowest bar, or a single module. As for XDimension, it is highly recommended that we use 0.013 inches. We may go narrower than that but not less than 0.010 inches. As for separator, it is suggested that we use 3 times the XDimension for its height. Therefore all barcode metrics will be:
- XDimension : 0.010 to 0.013 inches
- Row Height: 0.34 to 0.442 inches
- Separator height: 0.03 to 0.039 inches
Human Readable:
Human readable is important to have when barcode does not scan and human interaction is required. It is recommended that GS1 company Prefix and offer code, separated by a dash, is stated on top of Expanded Stacked barcode. Although OCR B is widely used as a human readable font, any font that clearly states the human readable part will be sufficient.
Creating GS1 DataBar Coupon bar code data with VectoBar Pro DataBar Barcode Software
VectoBar Pro DataBar Barcode Software will let you enter coupon data step by step to create a valid coupon code. Its strong input filter will prevent you entering wrong data. Once you compose data, you can just import it to main window to create coupon and interim coupon instantly.
Create GS1 DataBar Coupon with VectoBar Pro
Creating GS1 DataBar Coupon barcode using VectoBar Pro DataBar Barcode Software is very easy and you can do it in less than a minute. Follow the simple steps mentioned below:
Step 1: Choose Interim Coupon Symbol:
Open the application, and choose GS1 Interim Coupon barcode from the symbol menu
list.
Step 2: Enter Data:
You will see two text fields below preview panel. First text field is for UPC code which should start with digit “5” for coupon. Second text field is for DataBar Expanded Stacked barcode. If you know your data, just enter it here, and you will see your coupon code in preview panel. If you do not use step 2(a), you should go to text dialog to enter human readable (company prefix and offer code separated by hyphen) in the additional text field and move it horizontally to see the text above the GS1 Expanded Stacked barcode (see step 4).
Step 2(a): Launch Data Composer to create
Coupon Data:
If you need help with composing data for Expanded Stacked part, you can click “?” button on the right side of the text field, and it will open a dialog window prompting you enter necessary data. It will guide you through the data composing process. You may need to know a few information on coupon, such as, company prefix, offer code, family code, and other optional information such as expiration date, coupon start date, etc. Once you are done, click “show” button to see the data, and finally press “export” button to get the data encoded in the main window.
Step 3: Adjust “Segment per Row” for double stack (2 rows):
If your coupon barcode does not show in two rows, you can change that in setting dialog. Click settings button in the bottom of the main window, and it will open settings dialog. Change “Segments per Row” field to make it in two stacks. The higher the number you set, the fewer rows you will see in the expanded stacked barcode. For example, if you use only mandatory section of the coupon data, a setting of 3 segments per row will create 2 rows in Expanded Stacked barcode, but if you have to add more optional data in the coupon code you may have to choose bigger number to create a two stacked barcode.
Step 4: Adjust Text alignment:
Sometimes you may need to adjust the additional text on top of the stacked barcode (which is company prefix and offer code separated by hyphen). You can do that by going to text dialog and adjust the “Horizontal Displacement” field for additional text as you need.
Finally, when you are satisfied with the barcode you created, just save it in a desired location from where you can then export to different application. You can also send a copy of coupon barcode for verification to ensure data encoded properly. For best bar code quality assurance, we recommend that you send (by mail) us the hard copy of your final barcode graphic for verification.
Coupon Sample 1
Save $2.25 on any size of Shampoo (item 2) when you buy either item Conditioner or hair gel (item 3)
|
Application Identifier |
8110 |
|
Primary GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
1 |
|
Primary GS1 Company Prefix (6 + 1 = 7 digits) |
0123456 |
|
Offer Code |
654321 |
|
Save Value Length Indicator |
3 |
|
Save Value |
225 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
Primary Purchase Family Code |
123 |
|
|
|
|
Element Data |
|
|
Data Field 1 - 2nd Qualifying Purchase |
1 |
|
Additional Purchase Rules Code (2 = Both the Primary Item and either one of the 2nd or 3rd Items must be purchased) |
2 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
2nd Purchase Family Code |
321 |
|
2nd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix |
0345678 |
|
Data Field 2 - 3rd Qualifying Purchase |
2 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
3rd Purchase Family Code |
234 |
|
3rd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
1 |
|
3rd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix |
0987654 |
|
Data Field 3 - Expiration Date |
3 |
|
Expiration Date |
111231 |
Data encoded: 811010123456654321322511012312110321903456782110234109876543111231
Coupon Sample 2
Get a Free DataBar Barcode Software when you buy item a barcode scanner (item 2) and a barcode verifier. (Item 3)
|
Application Identifier 8110 |
8110 |
|
Primary GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
1 |
|
Primary GS1 Company Prefix |
0654321 |
|
Offer Code |
001234 |
|
Save Value Length Indicator |
1 |
|
Save Value |
0 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
Primary Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
Primary Purchase Family Code |
567 |
|
Data Field 1 - 2nd Qualifying Purchase |
1 |
|
Additional Purchase Rules Code |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
2nd Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
2nd Purchase Family Code |
789 |
|
2nd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
9 |
|
2nd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix |
N/A |
|
Data Field 2 - 3rd Qualifying Purchase |
2 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement Length Indicator |
1 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement |
1 |
|
3rd Purchase Requirement Code |
0 |
|
3rd Purchase Family Code |
345 |
|
3rd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix Length Indicator |
9 |
|
3rd Purchase GS1 Company Prefix |
N/A |
|
Data Field 3 - Expiration Date |
3 |
|
Expiration Date |
111231 |
|
Data Field 9 - Miscellaneous Elements |
9 |
|
Save Value Code |
1 |
|
Save Value Applies to Which Item |
0 |
|
Store Coupon |
0 |
|
Don't Multiply Flag |
0 |
Data encoded: 8110106543210012341011056711110789921103459311123191000
|
