If you will notice design #1 and design #2 you will see the two most commonly used codes. Design #1 is most commonly used on food items. And design #2 is used on allot of magazines and tobacco items. Also you will notice that design #2 is half the size of design #1. Also you will notice that design #1 is evenly divided. Let's first discuss design #1 and how it works then we'll come back to design #2 and see the differences.

As I stated before, design #1 is divided into equal sections by two narrow lines. The left side is the manufacturers code and the right side is the product code. Anything by the same manufacturer will have the same numerical code on the left side. Each manufacturer number has its own standard code for identification. The right side for the product code will vary between one product to the next within the same manufacture. Example: Campbell's has a manufacturers code of 51000. Campbell's Special Request Bean with Bacon 11 1/2 oz. can, has a code of 51000-06207 and the Special Request Cream of Mushroom 10 3/4 oz. can, has a code of 51000-06007. The price of the item and anything else needed to be known about the product, is programmed into the store computer. So at the time you purchase the product, it is scanned and then automatically deducted from the inventory.