EAN
What are EANs?
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The EAN system is used outside of the United States and Canada. EANs look similar to UPC codes but are 13 digits long. An EAN (European Article number, also known as GTIN-13) is just another retail product barcode. It works much like the UPC barcode.
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Do I really need an EAN?
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For companies sending goods to the USA and Canada:
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We recommend that you use UPC codes. As of Jan 2005, all American retailers were scheduled to adjust their systems to be able to read the additional 13th digit in EAN barcodes. However, we cannot confirm that all retailers have complied with this changeover. Therefore, we recommend using UPC instead of EAN for the North American market to insure universal compatibility. Click here to buy official UPC Codes.
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For companies exporting goods to countries outside of North America:
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In the past, we explained that the UPC code is 12 digits long and can be read both by UPC and by EAN scanners since the EAN system is set to accept UP TO 13 digits. Therefore, the UPC barcode is ideal for worldwide product roll-out since they can be read universally. Recent developments, however, have caused us to change our recommendation. We now suggest that you do use an EAN on those export goods. Even though the EAN system has the technical ability to read UPC codes, we have received an increasing number of reports lately that retailers in Europe and Asia are requesting that goods delivered to them feature an EAN.
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