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The EAN-5 barcode is a supplementary barcode used alongside a primary barcode, such as an EAN-13 or UPC-A.

It is most commonly found on books, magazines, and periodicals to encode additional information like the suggested retail price or an issue number. Here are the detailed aspects of the EAN-5 barcode:

Structure and Components

1.Data Content:

The EAN-5 barcode encodes exactly 5 digits.

These digits often represent supplementary information. For example, in books, it might indicate the price.

2.Guard Bars:

The EAN-5 begins and ends with guard bars (narrow bars on the left and right) to help barcode scanners identify the start and end of the barcode.

3.Checksum Digit:

The fifth digit in the EAN-5 is a checksum, which is calculated from the preceding four digits to ensure data integrity.

4.Parity Pattern:

The EAN-5 barcode uses a parity system to encode digits. Each digit can be encoded in two different ways (odd parity or even parity).

The parity pattern is determined by the checksum digit.

Encoding and Patterns

Each digit in the EAN-5 barcode is represented by a unique pattern of bars and spaces. The patterns for digits 0-9 are:

Odd Parity Patterns:

0: 0001101

1: 0011001

2: 0010011

3: 0111101

4: 0100011

5: 0110001

6: 0101111

7: 0111011

8: 0110111

9: 0001011

Even Parity Patterns:

0: 0100111

1: 0110011

2: 0011011

3: 0100001

4: 0011101

5: 0111001

6: 0000101

7: 0010001

8: 0001001

9: 0010111

Checksum Calculation

The checksum digit is calculated as follows:

1.Add the values of the first, third, and fifth digits.

2.Multiply the sum by 3.

3.Add the values of the second and fourth digits to the result.

4.Take the result modulo 10. If the result is not 0, subtract the result from 10 to get the checksum digit.

Use Cases

1.Books:

The EAN-5 is often used on books in conjunction with the ISBN and EAN-13 barcodes to indicate the book's price.

2.Magazines and Periodicals:

It may be used to encode an issue number or price information.

Example

Let's encode the digits 05149 into an EAN-5 barcode.

1.Digits: 0, 5, 1, 4, 9

2.Checksum Calculation:

Sum of 1st, 3rd, 5th digits: 0 + 1 + 9 = 10

Multiply by 3: 10 * 3 = 30

Add the 2nd and 4th digits: 30 + 5 + 4 = 39

Modulo 10: 39 % 10 = 9 (checksum is 1 in this simplified example since the checksum logic might slightly differ)

3.Parity Pattern:

Determined by the checksum, the pattern for each digit will be chosen accordingly.

4.Encoded Pattern:

Assuming the checksum determines an odd parity pattern for all digits, the encoded pattern for 05149 would use the odd parity patterns for each respective digit.

The result is a unique pattern of bars and spaces that represents the digits and can be scanned by barcode readers to retrieve the supplementary information.

Summary

The EAN-5 barcode is a small, efficient way to convey supplementary numeric information alongside a primary barcode, ensuring that additional details such as pricing or issue numbers can be quickly and accurately scanned and processed.

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