upc symbol location guidelines - retail identification history

UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODE

UPC SYMBOLLOCATION GUIDELINES

MAY 1973

distribution number bank • 1725 k street, n.w. • washington, d.c. 20006 • (202) 833-1134Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

for the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council

INTRODUCTION

LOCATIONGUIDELINE

1

2

3

5

6

7

8

9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Bottom Marking Exceptions

Multi-Packs (Excluding Beverages)

Beverages

Location on Can, and Glass and PlasticBottle, Labels

Symbol Area Reduction

Containers Without Natural Bottoms

Carded Products

Overwrapped Products

Problem Package Types

PageNo.

2

5

6

7

8

10

13

14

15

16

© ~distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

INTRODUCTION

This Symbol Location Guidelines manual is designed tohelp grocery manufacturers decide where to print thestandard Universal Product Code (UPC) symbol on individual consumer packages. Although all reasonableprecautions have been taken to assure that these guidelines are correct, no representation or warranty, expressor implied, to that effect is made, and the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council, Inc. hereby expressly disclaims liabilities for errors in these guidelines. Inaddition, while efforts have been made to assure thereliability and technical accuracy of the guidelines, no

AD HOC COMMITTEE

R. Burt Gookin*President

H. J. Heinz Company

Robert O. AdersChairman of the Board

The Kroger Co.

Frederick G. ButlerVice President

Bristol-Myers Company

Alan HabermanPresident

First National Stores, Inc.

John F. HayesGeneral Manager, Mktg.H. J. Heinz Company

Donald P. LloydPresident

Associated Food Stores, Inc.

Earl W. MadsenPresident

Madsen's Enterprises, Inc.

James P. McFarlandChairman of the Board

General Mills, Inc.

Thomas P. NelsonVice President

General Mills, Inc .

• Chairman

warranty or representation is made that these guidelines will not require modification as experience andtechnological advances dictate. In fact, a TechnicalAdvisory Committee is being formed to assist in implementation, including necessary changes to these guidelines.

The Council extends its appreciation to the hundreds,perhaps thousands of people who have participated inone way or another in this effort. The coordinating industry committees involved are as follows:

Robert A. StringerVice President

General Foods Corp.

John L. StrubbeVice President

The Kroger Co.

John C. SuerthPresident

Gerber Products Company

Bert L. ThomasPresident

Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.

Robert B. WegmanChairman of the Board

Wegman's Food Markets, Inc.

Raymond D. WolfePresident

The Oshawa Group, Ltd.

James T. WymanChairman, Executive Committee

Super Valu Stores, Inc.

Counsel:

Stephen A. BrownKirkland, Ellis & Rowe

© • distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

SYMBOL STANDARDIZATIONSUBCOMMITTEE

Alan Haberman*First National Stores, Inc.

Fritz BiermeierRed Owl Stores, Inc.

Barry FranzProcter & Gamble Company

William GaltDel Monte Corp.

John F. HayesH. J. Heinz Company

S. Stephen LinnGeneral Foods Corp.

Robert TrippWinn-Dixie Stores, Inc.

Eric WaldbaumGreenbelt Consumer Services, Inc.

'Chairman

UNIFORM GROCERY PRODUCT CODE COUNCIL1973 BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Robert A. Stringer*General Foods Corp.

Fritz BiermeierRed Owl Stores, Inc.

K. Marvin Eberts, Jr.Stokely Van Camp, Inc.

Alan HabermanFirst National Stores, Inc.

William J. HollisAmerican Can Compnay

Arthur D. JuceamLehn & Fink Products Co.

Robert R. KoenigSuper Valu Stores, Inc.

Curt KornblauSuper Market Institute

Robert F. LeeJohnson & Johnson

Donald P. LloydAssoct'ated Food Stores, Inc.

Thomas P. NelsonGeneral Mills, Inc.

William E. OddyJewel Food Stores

John L. StrubbeThe Kroger Co.

Wilbur StumpStump's Enterprises, Inc.

Counsel:

Stephen A. BrownKirkland, Ellis & Rowe

©distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

This document should be considered in conjunctionwith two companion documents:

• UPC SYMBOL SPECIFICATION

• UPC GUIDELINES MANUAL

The UPC Guidelines Manual describes how to assign anumeric code to each product; the UPC Symbol Specification describes how to translate a UPC code number into its standard machine-readable representation(symbol). Since the main reason for standardization isto increase productivity without substantially increasingcosts to manufacturers for symbol printing, this manual

sets forth UPC symbol location guidelines which arethe best compromises that have developed from industry-wide discussion.

All companies participating in this voluntary standardare invited to suggest changes to Distribution NumberBank, Inc. Alternatively, special cases which make itdifficult or impossible to meet these guidelines shouldbe described to Distribution" Number Bank so they canbe codified in this manual and thus communicated tothe Distribution Industries. Distribution Number Bankwill not sit in judgment over these special cases. Manufacturers are encouraged to work out accommodationswith distributors and then bring such consensus to Distribution Number Bank for possible inclusion by theUniform Grocery Product Code Council.

©distribution number bonk. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

5

LOCATION GUIDELINE #1

BOTTOM MARKING EXCEPTIONS

As a general rule the symbol should be placed on the naturalbottom of all products to maximize productivity improvement in theDistribution Industries. The following are exceptions to that rule:

a. Because of the high cost of placing additional labels onthe bottoms, symbol may be printed on the side withincurrent package graphics of cans, glass bottles, plasticbottles and milk cartons. It is anticipated that lithographed cans will also directly incorporate the sYmbol inthe current graphics. (See Location Guideline #4, Locationon Can, and Glass and Plastic Bottle, Labels.)

b. SYmbol may be printed on the side of bathroom tissue andother similar packages which utilize bottom closures thatwould lead to special labeling if bottom marking were required. This is not meant to exclude paperboard cartonsfrom bottom marking.

c. Government regulatory agencies (e.g., Food and Drug Administration) may enact controls that would make it difficult or impossible to bottom mark some cardboard boxes,especially in the Drug Industry.

d. SYmbol may be printed on the cardboard top of containersthat have no printing on the natural bottom.

e. See Location Guideline #3 for special guidelines applicableto beverages.

©distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol -

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MULTI-PACKS (Excluding Beverages)

As a general rule an appropriate symbol should be placed onevery consumer package sold through grocery stores. Thus, productssold individually and in multi-packs should carry a unique symbol foreach consumer package variation or aggregation, except:

a. Symbols are not required on individual light bulbs sold incardboard sleeves.

b. A symbol should appear on cigarette cartons but need noton each individual package.

c. A symbol need not appear on individual packages which areso small as to represent a special problem and are not intended to be sold outside the multi-pack.

d. See Location Guideline #3 for special guidelines applicableto beverages.

e. See Location Guideline #8 for overwrapped products.

©~~•• distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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BEVERAGES

The Beverage Industry, in particular, has unique circumstancesthat warrant the following guidelines, which should apply to all similar containers regardless of the product packed:

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

f.

g.

h.

©

Symbol may be applied to neck ringers or printed on labelson loose, large-size returnable beverage bottles.

Symbols are not required on each bottle sold in a beveragemulti-pack which utilizes a cardboard carrier. They should,however, show on the multi-pack carrier. (See exceptionunder c below for high-cone multi-packs.)

On high-cone multi-packs, the symbol may be placed on thesides of all cans, and those symbols will represent asingle can and not the entire multi-pack. A separatesymbol should be applied to designate the entire multipack (e.g., 6-pack) when a reasonable method is developed.

Symbols may be attached to inserts rather than directprinted when beverages are packed in plastic multi-packcarrying cases.

When trays are used, the symbol should appear on the bottomand designate the multi-pack.

On 12- or 24-pack multi-packs, the symbol should be appliedto the bottom of the carrier.

Symbols need not be shown on returnable bottles, but shouldbe printed on the bottom of the carriers.

A single code number and the symbol will be acceptable ongeneric multi-packs used for a variety of flavors in thebeverage industry; e.g., a multi-pack carrying grape sodamay be used again with the same symbol to designate orangesoda, as long as the code guidelines are met.

distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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LOCATION ON CAN, AND GLASS AND PLASTIC BOTTLE, LABELS

The following guidelines apply to cans, glass and plastic bottles, and other containers not marked on the natural bottom of thepackage.

In general, the more variation there is in symbol location frompackage to package, the more difficulty the check-out clerk will havein finding it and passing it across the scanners, and the less satisfactory it will be for distributors.

The preferred location for the symbol on these packages will,in most cases, be the back of the package. If the back is not available, location of the symbol to the left of the front would be nextmost preferable. On bottles with spot labels on the front, the sYmbolmay be included on those labels. This advice recognizes that therewill be a great number of elements included on a label by the manufacturer, not the least of which are those items required to communicatewhat the product is and how it can be used, the contents declaration,the ingredient listing, and possibly the nutritional declaration. Thesymbol must compete for space with all of these. Further, some ofthese other elements may have legally-required locations which the symbol cannot change.

The symbol should also be located as low as possible on thepackage, within the above guidelines. This is not only to assiststandardization of location to achieve check-out counter productivity,but also to allow for the possibility of side scanners.

The symbol should be oriented on the label to maximize printability by having the parallel bars run parallel with the press direction. In some cases this will result in the bars appearing on curvedsurfaces, as shown in the following figure:

UPCSYMBOL

©~~•• distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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If this occurs, the angle between the checkstand surface and aline drawn through an extremity of the sYmbol when the center of thesymbol is touching the checkstand surface, should not exceed 30 degrees.

If this angle exceeds~degrees, then the sYmbol must be rotated 90 degrees on the surface on which it is printed, so that the bars extend upthe side of the curved surface of the package instead of around it. Thereason for this is that a ~-degree angle measured as described above isrequired to ensure acceptab~~ checker performance.

The following chart will be useful for grocery man~~cturers asthey examine label designs. This chart shows the limit of~degreesnoted above for various container diameters as a function of maximummagnification factor.

MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION FACTOR

Zero SuppressionSymbols

2.00

2.00

2.00

2.00

A':)

"9;l..~ /; 58"

).<81J I I 7 ?...

~ I, tt'i5

1. 00 ,:lL.r6 I·f)

I. ,,7

1,'1~

~ 1,70

~ (,'joa ,00

Full-SizeSymbols

i4-*

3.5

2.5

3.0

4.0

Larger -tl:l-a.R-4.

CONTAINER DIAMETER(Inches)

',17.0

* Requires unacceptably small magnification factor rotate sYmbol 90 degr~es.

f

© • distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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SYMBOL AREA REDUCTION

The variable-size symbol approach may result in very largesYmbols when printing conditions are poor, and this may occur whenthere is insufficient label area to accommodate the larger-size symbol. Similarly, even when very accurate processes are needed, thelabel area may be simply too small to accommodate the whole sYmbol.Several methods are available to reduce the size of the sYmbol.

1. The minimum magnification factor consistent with printingcharacteristics should be used to minimize symbol area.

2. Nearly a 50-percent reduction is available when the zerosuppression version of the sYmbol is used, as describedin Section 2.5 of the SYmbol Specification manual.

3. Slicing will be acceptable under the circumstances outlined below.

REDUCTION #1

If reduction of symbol size has been achieved with 1 and/or 2above and the resulting sYmbol size is still too large - e.g., morethan 5 percent of the effective label area (defined at the end of thisLocation Guideline) - use the chart below to determine how much to remove from the symbol, thus reducing the size of the sYmbol to be printed.This chart also applies to the zero suppression version of the symbol.

Magnification FactorUsed

Less than 1.01.01.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.81.92.0

Amount of the SYmbolThat May Be Removed

From the Top(Inches)

0.000.000.030.060.090.120.150.180.210.240.270.30


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REDUCTION #2

Under some conditions the symbol may still be too large to fiton the package. The following reduction in area may be taken if thesymbol is still unreasonably large (e.g., greater than 5 percent ofthe effective label area). However, the reduction shown below will require check-out clerks using automated equipment to orient products tosome extent to the scanner. Therefore, this will effectively slow thatoperation and be less than satisfactory for distributors. Accordingly,this step should be taken only if absolutely necessary. Under this condition, the additional part of the symbol that may be sliced from thetop is shown below.

Magnification FactorUsed

Less than 1.01.01.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.81.92.0

REDUCTION #3

Reduction#1

0.0000.0000.0300.0600.0900.1200.1500.1800.2100.2400.2700.300

Reduction#2

0.0000.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.1500.150

Amount of the SymbolThat May Be Removed

From the Top(Inches)

0.0000.1500.1800.2100.2400.2700.3000.3300.3600.3900.4200.450

If the above reductions produce a symbol which still cannot beplaced on the package because of size (e.g., if the symbol is more than7 1/2 percent of the effective label area), further reductions may bemade. Any abuse of this procedure will require unnecessary orientationeffort and will therefore be very unattractive to distributors. Eachmanufacturer must work out his own accords with distributors, but it issuggested that Distribution Number Bank be notified of more drastic reductions. Distribution Number Bank may publish agreements for the information of the Grocery Industry, but will not be an arbiter.

DEFINITION OF EFFECTIVE LABEL AREA

Label area shall be defined as the total area on a package wheregraphics appear. On a box, all 6 sides would ordinarily be counted.


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When spot labels are used on glass or plastic containers, thecombined area of all labels (front, bank, neck band, etc.) may be reduced by multiplying by 0.75 to develop the effective area. This reduction is in recognition of the die cutting and segmented nature ofthese labels.

In the case of containers with printing only on the top, usethat area. If a printed overwrap is used over the printed carton, usethe area of the primary printing surface (i.e., usually the box).

©~• distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol


CONTAINERS WITHOUT NATURAL BOTTOMS

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Some packages (e.g., flexible bags and small pouches) do nothave a natural bottom. Those packages should incorporate the symbolon the back panel near the lower edge and in the middle. If the bagis normally filled so that the area close to the lower edge normallybulges, the symbol should be moved up closer to the center of the bag.

© I distribution number bonk • Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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CARDED PRODUCTS

The symbol may show on the face of a carded product, providedthe symbol will not be more than 0.5 inches from a flat surface whenthe package is facing such a surface.

Note that this may be a problem for large, bulky carded products where the product is thicker than 0.5 inches and therefore a symbol printed on the card would be too far away from the scanner. Ifthis occurs, the symbol should be printed on the back of the card.

© i distribution number bonk. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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OVERWRAPPED PRODUCTS

Some packages are packed with clear overwraps which are sometimes printed and sometimes not. Examples would include small cerealboxes packed 10 to a tray and candy bars packed 10 to a bag. The following guidelines shall apply to these packages:

a. If a single unit packed in the bag is rarely sold separately or is too small to carry a symbol, the symbolshould be placed only on the multi-pack version (i.e.,on the bag of candy bars or on the bottom of the trayholding the small cereal boxes).

b. If a single unit can be sold separately and the manufacturer wishes to maximize savings for the distributor.one symbol should be placed on the single unit and another symbol (encoding a different number to designatethe multi-pack) should be placed on the outer multi-pack.However, the multi-pack container must obscure completelythe symbols on the single-pack units within.

©• distribution number bank. Administrator of the Universal Product Code and UPC Symbol

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PROBLEM PACKAGE TYPES

Some types of products present problems which require furtheranalysis before firm guidelines can be suggested; however, tentativeguidelines are shown to act as a catalyst for interested companies towork out the details.

Tentative Guidelines

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

Softwares such as panty hoseand other clothing

Magazines/Paperback Books

Unlabeled Housewares

Products with hang tags orpin tags

Eyeglasses and other productswhich change product identification often

Symbol should be on eachpackage and encode size,color, brand and manufacturer in lO-digit UPC.

Symbol should encode product just as any other butalso have dates encoded.SYmbol should appear oneither the front or backcovers near the bottomnext to the binding.

Pressure-sensitive labelshould be used or productshould be carded with symbol on the card.

Symbol should be printedon tag.

Symbol should encode aclass of products (e.g.,in a price class) and appear on each package.


CCOPyri9ht 1973. Printed in U.S.A.

upc symbol location guidelines - retail identification history

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