New media
How to get an ISBN or UPC
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ISBN
R R Bowker is the official agency in the United States that assigns an ISBN to every book title. Unfortunately, they make things difficult for self-publishers with an application page that suggests you need to buy a minimum block of 10 ISBNs for $235.
Writes Kelly: "Nowhere does Bowker advertise that you CAN get only one ISBN from them for $125. They seem to make this as difficult as possible. You have to call this Bowker number (877-310-7333; select option #4 in the voicemail) and ask them to fax you an application to apply for one ISBN number. (No, the form is not on their website.) After you mail them a check they will send you a number that contains the code for a blank shared generic publisher."
UPC
If you're selling a DVD, Kelly writes, "The official way to get a UPC is to become a member of the UCC (Uniform Code
Council). You register online as a company here,
and they issue you a company number, which then becomes part of your UPC codes. The
minimum membership fee is $750 for a block of 100 codes, plus an annual renewal
of $150. This is obviously unacceptable for most self-publishers, so there is a
gray market alternative. You can buy a UPC code from a reseller. Subdivisions
caters to small-time entrepreneurs, inventors, artists and musicians. You can
purchase a UPC for $35 (after a one-time $75 registration fee). This is a great
bargain; for your $35 you get emailed a TIFF of the actual bar code, so you can
skip the Bar Code step below. If you are truly trying to minimize your initial expenses and you
are sure you will need only one UPC, you can purchase one (with bar code image
delivered) for $89 from Rovix.
"A friend recently told me about this deal, which I have not tried. If you use Discmakers to duplicate your DVD, they’ll give you a free UPC bar code. Their prices for duplication are hard to beat.
"You’ll need the same UPC for a CD and you can purchase one from Rovix or
Subdivisions. But there is a cheaper alternative for music CDs, one with added
advantages. For $35 you can sign up your CD on CD
Baby, which is sort of an online record store. They will list your CD on
their marketplace and for another $20 give you a UPC and bar code. Here’s how. CD Baby’s
marketplace in non-exclusive, so you can also sell your CD on Amazon as well.
So for $55 you get a UPC, a bar code, registration on Soundscan, and exposure
on CD Baby. For additional fees they will also produce, duplicate and package
your CD (or DVD) from your files in a one-stop shop. I’ve not used those
services, but we did use CD Baby to get one UPC/bar code for a CD selling on
Amazon.
One reader suggested an even cheaper source for a single UPC/bar code: the Indie Artist Alliance will sell you one for $10. Sign up here.
Get a bar code
Adds Kelly: "Once you have your ISBN, you'll need a scannable bar code of it that has to appear on the book. The bar code must match the item’s UPC or ISBN number. There is software for generating your own codes. Or you can purchase bar codes for books from Bowker (for $25 per bar code) at the same time that you are applying for ISBNs. Other sources are cheaper – and the bar code identical. For the occasional code we need we use a company called Bar Code Graphics; they’ll generate bar codes from both ISBN and UPC. It’s easy and cheap – 10 per code. Within a couple of minutes of ordering online, you’ll receive, via email, the bar code as an attached file (in ESP, the standard Postscript format), which can then be pasted into your cover artwork. (If you use the UPC resellers mentioned above, they will mail you a design-ready bar code.)
"Your book or CD may already be printed. In that case you can affix bar codes printed on labels and then paste them on the back cover. This works fine. The same vendors selling bar codes will also sell a roll of bar code labels."
Source: For more details, see kk.org
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Related: Self-publishing a book (or CD, DVD, etc.)
