Barcode Price Extension Working Group

Overview and Purpose

In the mid-2000s, BISG helped create and promote guidelines for a barcode that supported a move from 10-digit to 13-digit ISBNs. The 13-digit ISBN became an industry requirement at the start of 2007. At the time of adoption, an extension that showed the price of a book was a standard part of the barcode.

BISG maintains several resources relevant to barcodes appearing on print books in the North American market. These are summarized in “Barcoding Guidelines for the US Book Industry”, an online FAQ (set of frequently asked questions) that was last updated in 2011. Other barcode-related resources can be found on its “Barcodes and Labels” page, also on the BISG web site.

In the last few years, the standards established in the mid-2000s have been challenged by at least two developments. These include growing interest among publishers and perhaps other parts of the industry to make book prices more flexible, moving up or down to respond to changes in demand for specific titles. The display of a price in a barcode limits publishers’ ability to change a book’s price without stickering, a cost often borne by the publisher. In periods of volatility in the cost of production and distribution, publishers are at times unable to update prices to reflect market conditions.

A BISG survey conducted in 2019 found that distributor and retailer requirements for the price extension varied across the industry. In the time since the initial survey was conducted and shared, calls for greater flexibility in not showing a price in the barcode appear to have grown, although measurement of the trend is anecdotal.

A second development is the perceived improvement of barcode scanning equipment, a shift that offers the opportunity to tighten the requirements now in place for barcode size and surrounding white space. Designers have asked for greater flexibility in this area, both to reduce the size of the area dedicated to barcodes and to increase the potential use of background colors that make the barcode less intrusive.

The working group is convened to address two sets of barcode-related questions:

• Is the price extension for barcodes used in the North American market a requirement, a preference, or no longer useful? To the extent that it continues as a preference, how do we communicate the standard clearly to reflect recipient requirements? And, are there options that the industry could pursue that would support price flexibility while respecting distributor or retailer operational needs?

• Could the supply chain support a smaller bar code on North American books? If so, what are the minimum tolerances, and what risks are involved in changing the standard?