Bar Codes

Do I need one?

If the CD that you're designing is going to be sold only through mail order, or only at live events, there is no rule that says CDs cannot be manufactured unless they have barcodes.  However, if there's any chance at all that the project might end up in stores, it's foolhardy not to get one. There are a few stores that will take them without, but you make even their lives simpler if you have a barcode. Most stores won't even consider it.  No distributor will. About half of the clients who don't get a barcode in their graphics reconsider and buy barcode stickers from us a month or two later.

How they work

The Uniform Code Council, or UCC, for a fee, will give you a unique 6-digit "UPC Manufacturer ID" number.  These are the first 6 digits in the barcode (including a set off, smaller digit at the far left).   The next 4 digits are the "catalog number" and are assigned at the discretion of the "Manufacturer."  The next to last number is the "configuration digit," which is 2 if the product is a CD, 4 if it's a cassette, 1 if it's a vinyl LP, etc...The last number is a mathematically derived "check digit" that's generated from a formula using the other eleven digits.  The barcode scanner tries to generate the check digit on it's own; it the one it scans and the one it derives don't match, it honks to let you know that it failed to read the bar code properly.

How to get one free from us

Download the sample bar code graphic from our downloading zone. Place the graphic in a box in your outside traycard artwork that's 1.25" by .5".  When you submit your files, indicate that you need a barcode from us on your order form.

Tip: the wise designer does this early on, so that it can be smoothly integrated into the design from the start.  It's big, it's ugly, but it's going to be there, and you'll need to get used to it. If you finish your spacious, stark, indie design and only then try to work in the barcode, you'll hate it.  If it's there from the start, you'll design around it instinctively.

Can it be any smaller?

The bar code graphics that Mr. Toad's supplies are sized at the industry standard scaling "UPC A, 80%."  If you make the bar code smaller, it will be "out of spec," and some bar code scanners will have a tough time reading it.  CD bar codes are usually heavily cropped at the top; a full UPC A symbol is over an inch tall. The bar code box that appears in every Mr. Toad's traycard template measures only half an inch tall. It is possible to crop it further (on cassette layouts, there's no way around cropping it down).  However, doing so makes it harder to aim at with a gun, or trace with a scanning pencil.

Can it have a different background?

Bar codes need to have a certain amount of contrast between the bars and the background. The acceptable contrast formula is actually available online from the UCC in the technical section, in case you're interested.  The gist is: the less contrast between foreground and background, the harder it is to read a bar code.  Unfortunately, Mr. Toad's comprehensive study of how all possible shades of bar code backgrounds affect all bar code readers in the world is not yet complete.  Check back next week.  Until then, you'll have to make do with this preliminary report:  Black on white is safe.  Anything else might work, sometimes.

I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!

Think back to your CD collection. Can you remember where the bar codes are on your CDs? Most people don't even see the bar code, unless poor design forces attention to be drawn to it. The only time I've paid a lot of attention to bar codes is when I worked retail in a Mom & Pop CD store that didn't generate it's own bar code stickers. I was forced to pay attention then because we stocked a lot of indie releases that had crappy bar codes that wouldn't scan.  Boy, is it annoying to have to type in 12 digits per CD while the line's shooting up the aisle. Take pity on clerks, and make retailers more excited about stocking your title - make bar codes work!