Frequently Asked Questions


A copy of AccuBarcode software products automatically turns itself to demo mode after one year starting from the day it got activated. Reminding messages start coming out one month before the actual expiration every time the program is invoked. Explanation: Instead of selling updaters in some irregular ways, AccuBarcode Pro sales takes an updating scheme that the users can enjoy the latest and greatest version of the software all the time during its subscription periods, meaning that they get noticed by the software whenever a new update is available online and they can download it to get the software updated for free. This scheme ensures that the users have the software running properly and create barcodes correctly all the time under the changing industrial barcoding standards and computer systems. We learn too many lessons that customers created wrong barcodes under new standards and could not run the software properly under new computer systems. We have too many customers and the software supports too many standards and runs under multiple computer platforms so that it is impossible to notify a change to all necessary customers when the change comes out. We charge a small fee (See Price List) for the cost of our continuous revision development. People who paid for the first purchase only means that they have paid for the first year, not for the automatic updates after that year.

Mostly, you are talking about how to get a UPC (the US) or EAN (the rest of the world) number for your product. More specifically, you are asking how to obtain a UPC or EAN company identification number. In the US a company can obtain a unique company identification number by becoming a member of GS1-US (formerly the Uniform Code Council). In the rest of the world, contact your GS1 (formerly EAN International) agency. The company identification number is the first part of the UPC or EAN code. You assign for a specific product a product number attached to the company identification number to make the number of digits 11 for UPC or 12 for EAN. Each product number must be unique for a particular product and product size. If you have an 8 oz. size and a 12 oz. size for the same product, for example, you need to assign two unique numbers. A check digit must be created on the company identification number plus product number and attached to them to make the whole number of digits 12 for UPC or 13 for EAN. This is the number your barcode will contain.

If you want to barcode a book, you contact the International Standard Book Number (ISBN).
If you are barcoding a serial publication, you contact the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN).
If you are barcoding your mail pieces, in the US, contact the United States Post Service (USPS).
If you want to have barcodes on your items within some particular industry or for some special purposes, you need more some assistance. Our specialists can tell you what to do.

This is an issue introduced by the default security settings of Mac OS X 10.8+ (Mountain Lion), which allow only applications downloaded from "Mac App Store and identified developers". The alert is highly misleading.

Solution 1:
Change the setting in the "Security & Privacy" preferences (Apple menu > "System Preferences..." > "Personal" section > "Security & Privacy" > "General" pane) to "Anywhere", you should be able to run AccuBarcode Pro Installer and get the software installed on your Mac without any problems.

This affects your general settings. If you feel that your "Security & Privacy" should be set back, do this after the installation.

Note: If you are using Mac OS Sierra(10.12+), maybe you need do the following steps first

1. Disable Gatekeeper in macOS Sierra
The Gatekeeper settings can be found in System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General. The Gatekeeper options are located beneath “All apps downloaded from:” with the choice of “Anywhere” missing.

Thankfully, the “Anywhere” setting can be restored to Gatekeeper in Sierra with a Terminal command. First, quit System Preferences if it’s open and then open a new Terminal window. Enter the following command, followed by your admin password when prompted:

sudo spctl --master-disable

Now, relaunch System Preferences and head back to the Gatekeeper settings. You’ll now see that “Anywhere” has been restored. Click the padlock in the lower-left corner to enter your password and make changes, then select “Anywhere” from the list of Gatekeeper options. The security feature will no longer bug you about apps from unidentified developers.

2. Restore Sierra Gatekeeper Settings to Default
If you’ve enabled the “Anywhere” option by using the Terminal command above and later want to remove it, you can head back to Terminal and run this command instead:

sudo spctl --master-enable

This way, you can ensure better security for any new users of the Mac.

Note: Threre are two '-' before 'master'.

Solution 2:
You can also right-click on (or hold the Control key and click on) Accubarcode Pro Installer and choose "Open" from the popup menu, that will bypass the Mountain Lion app source security policy and execute it normally.

The app Accubarcode Pro Installer will be stored as an exception to your security settings, and you will be able to open it in the future by double-clicking it. This doesn't override your general settings.

UCC Coupon Barcode has been in use in retail industry for a long time (mid 1980). At first, it was a UPC-A symbol with system ID 5. A UPC-A symbol could only hold 12 digits, which was not enough for additional information such as offer code, expiration date or household ID numbers. Therefore, a UCC/EAN 128 barcode symbol was attached to the UPC-A symbol. An EAN-13 symbol was also in use in addition to the UPC-A symbol, which starts with 99, hence called EAN-99 Coupon Barcode. After more than 20 years in use, a need to encode even more data for complex barcode couponing came out. GS1 US (formerly UCC) introduced a new coupon format using GS1 DataBar Expanded Stacked Barcode (formerly RSS Expanded Stacked Barcode). This barcode, GS1 DataBar Coupon Barcode, would be mandatory nationwide on January 2011 (Sunrise 2011). During the transition, GS1 proposed using the UPC-A barcode and GS1 Expanded Stacked barcode side by side, known as GS1 DataBar Interim Coupon Barcode.

AccuBarcode Pro Plus’s features cover everything AccuBarcode Pro has plus UPC-E System 1, SISAC, and Paperback and maybe more in the future. Only customers who have these special needs need to purchase AccuBarcode Pro Plus.

Graphics in EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format have been used for decades and will continue to be the preferable format in the graphic design industry. Barcode printing has some special requirements including high contrast, sharp edge and consistency. In an EPS file, accurate dimensional values can be set independently of the output device, which is perfect for barcode printing. An EPS file can be easily converted to other format if the customer wants to do so.

You may create all GTIN (Global Trade Identification Number) barcodes after setting your item ID, and packaging or other information if needed. GTIN is a globally unique 14-digit number used to identify trade items, products or services consisting of the entire family of GS1 (UCC.EAN) data structures:
GTIN-8 (EAN-8), 8 digits
GTIN-12 (UPC), 12 digits
GTIN-13 (EAN-13), 13 digits
GTIN-14 (GS1-128 and ITF-14), 14 digits
The full 14-digit GTIN is achieved on a data carrier of shorter length by padding the number with left-justified zeros out to 14 digits, but the length of the data encoded in a barcode respects to its defined barcode type.

In the US, go to U.S. ISBN Agency:
http://www.isbn.org

In China, go to China ISBN Agency:
http://www.chinaisbn.com

For other countries, go to International ISBN Agency first and then select your group Agency:
http://www.isbn-international.org/agency

In the US, go to GS1 US for a UPC company ID:
http://www.gs1us.org/

In China, go to GS1 China for an EAN company ID:
http://www.gs1cn.org/

For other countries, go to GS1 International first and then select your group for an EAN Manufacturer's ID:
http://www.gs1.org/contact