EAN-8: The Space-Saving Retail Standard

The EAN-8 is the short-form counterpart to the standard EAN-13 barcode. It was specifically designed for small products where packaging real estate is limited.

1. When to Use EAN-8?

EAN-8 is strictly reserved for products with a small surface area, such as cosmetics, chewing gum, or jewelry. Because EAN-8 numbers are in short supply, they are only granted by GS1 when a standard EAN-13 cannot fit.

2. Anatomy of an EAN-8

• Country Prefix: 2 or 3 digits.
• Item Reference: 4 or 5 digits.
• Check Digit: 1 digit to ensure scanning accuracy.

Technical Tip:

Despite its smaller size, EAN-8 maintains the same bar-width ratios as EAN-13, ensuring it can be read by any standard Omni-directional retail scanner.