How To Generate & Print ISSN Barcodes
The ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is used to identify serial
publications, which are publications that are issued in numerical order,
such as the volumes of a magazine. Serial publications include periodicals,
annual reports, yearbooks, journals, transactions, newspapers and more.
ISSN numbers also apply to electronic publications that exist on the
Internet, but do not include commercial websites, blogs or web pages,
which contain only links to other Internet URLs. This tutorial will
take you through the process of creating an ISSN barcode for any of
the above serial publications using the
IDAutomation Barcode
Image Generator software.
ISSN
registration is free of charge, and both ISSN International and National
Centers assign the 8-digit number depending on the type of serial publication, whether the publication is intended for international
or national distribution, and whether there is a national center located
within the country of origin. If no national ISSN center exists in the
specified country, the International Center is responsible for ISSN
assignment. Once the ISSN number is received, it should be displayed
on the cover of the publication, in the upper right corner.
Generating an ISSN barcode requires an EAN13 barcode. The
Barcode Image Generator
software is used to create the ISSN barcode in this tutorial, although
in other cases it may be better to use IDAutomation's
UPC/EAN Barcode
Fonts. If other types of barcode automation are preferred, IDAutomation
offers a variety of barcode
font tools, components and stand-alone applications for this exact
purpose.
For printed serial publications, the ISSN barcode number should be
displayed on the upper right-hand portion of the cover. If this is not
possible, other acceptable locations are with the copyright or publisher
information. In the case of electronic serial publications, the ISSN
barcode number should be displayed on the home or title pages.
An ISSN barcode is composed of 5 different sections:
- "ISSN" must precede the number
- The numbers 977 should follow "ISSN"
- The first 7 digits of the ISSN (the 8th digit is an ISSN check
digit and is discarded when encoding with EAN13)
- 2-digit price code, usually 00
- EAN13 check digit
Encoding an ISSN number into an EAN13 barcode varies in complexity
based on how the information is being encoded. To encode the ISSN manually,
begin the data to be encoded with 977 followed by the first 7 digits
of the ISSN, then the 2-digit price code which is usually 00. Using
the image example above, an ISSN 2496-5524, the data to be encoded should
be 977249655200. After this, the EAN13 check digit must be added to
the end of the string. To calculate the EAN13 mod10 check digit manually,
follow these simple instructions:
- Starting with the first number on the right, take the sum of
all odd numbers (977249655200)
and multiply by 3 to get 75.
- Starting with the second number on the right, take the sum of
all even numbers (977249655200)
to get 31.
- Add the results from steps 1 & 2 to get 106.
- The difference between the step 3 result and the next highest
multiple of 10 is the EAN13 check digit. In this case, the next
highest multiple of 10 is 110 and the difference between 110 and
106 is 4.
Because manually calculating check digits can be complicated, IDAutomation
offers a free
online barcode font encoder that automatically calculates the Mod10
check digit for an EAN13 barcode in addition to several other symbologies.
The Barcode Image Generator used in this tutorial contains a useful
capability that allows automatic check digit calculation simply
by checking the appropriate box.
The step-by-step process to create an ISSN barcode using the
Barcode Image Generator
is as follows:
- Install the UPC/EAN Barcode Font Package.
- After the EAN13 font is installed, install the
Barcode Image Generator.
- Open the Image Generator. Under the Barcode Properties
tab in the Data to Encode in Barcode field, enter the 12-digit
ISSN number beginning with 977 and ending with 00. The last digit
of the ISSN number is a check digit; which automatically encoded
with the Barcode Image Generator when the "Use Check Digit"
check box is populated.
For example: 977249655200
Choose 1.80 for the Bar Height and .050 for the X dimension.
Choose EAN13 for the Symbology.
- In the Text & Color Properties tab, make sure the
Show Human Readable Text and Show Check Digit in Text
check boxes are populated:
- In the Caption Properties tab, click the set button for
the Upper Caption Font and select the font of your choice:
- In the Upper Caption text box on the Caption Properties
tab, enter the ISSN number (with dashes) preceded with the text
"ISSN."
- In the Image Properties tab, choose the resolution of
the image (if unsure, select 300) and select Bitmap for the image
type.
- Choose Generate Image File and save the image to the
hard drive. The ISSN is now ready to be imported and placed in the
serial publication. If it is desired to create multiple ISSN labels,
this same process may be used with
IDAutomation's
Barcode Label Software.
When the EAN-13 barcode of the ISBN number is scanned, the data should
equal the numbers printed below the barcode on the publication. A common
method of
reading and testing barcodes is with a hand-held
barcode scanner.
Most of the barcode scanners recommended by IDAutomation perform keyboard
emulation and receive power from the USB port, so that no external power
supply is required. When a barcode is scanned using keyboard emulation,
the data read appears at the cursor as if it had been typed in from
the keyboard. Most barcode scanners have the ability to read ISSN barcodes
by default, such as the hand-held
IDAutomation
USB Barcode Scanner.
|
