Although we don’t pay much attention to them, barcodes appear on all the food items we buy at the stores.

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On packaged food items, you will find UPC-13 or EAN-13 barcodes, which are the standard barcode formats used by all retailers.For food items that need to be weighed, a weighted barcode is generated that contains three pieces of vital information that differentiates it from the barcodes of packaged food items.

Firstly, it starts with a prefix that tells the system that the barcode being scanned is a weighted barcode. Secondly, it contains digits that identify the item being weighed - the SKU. And thirdly, it includes the weight of that item. When scanned at the till, the price is calculated based on the weight, and the price per unit of weight of the item.

Barcoding your products is just one of the things on your checklist that you need to tick off when bringing your product into retail stores. You’ll also need to consider how best to incorporate your barcode onto your product.

The design of your barcode is very important as it must meet the required standards for product barcodes, but must also not be intrusive in the packaging of your product.Local barcoding company SA Barcodes caters to the barcoding needs of businesses of all sizes.

They supply registered barcodes required by all major retailers in South Africa, and also offer a label printing and design service that ensures your barcodes are accepted from the get go.For further information on barcodes, the barcoding process, FAQs, or to get in touch, visit SA Barcodes website: www.sabarcodes.co.za