Barcode Generator

What you get

Six symbologies common in retail and warehousing: EAN-13 and EAN-8 for goods, UPC-A for the US and Canadian market, Code 128 and Code 39 for internal labeling, and ITF-14 for cartons and pallets.

The finished image can be downloaded as PNG or SVG. For labels, use SVG: it stays sharp when printed at any size.

The check digit

In EAN, UPC and ITF codes the last digit is a check digit calculated from the rest. Enter the digits without it and the tool adds it for you. If you enter a complete code, the tool verifies the check digit and, when it does not match, tells you which digit should be there instead.

Choosing a format

• EAN-13: a retail product in a store, 13 digits;
• EAN-8: the same for small packages where 13 digits do not fit;
• UPC-A: 12 digits, US and Canadian retail;
• Code 128: Latin letters, digits and symbols, for internal SKUs, order numbers, serial numbers;
• Code 39: uppercase Latin letters and digits, an old and undemanding format for warehouses and documents;
• ITF-14: grouped packaging, such as a carton, a pallet, a shipping label.

Size and printing

The module width is the width of the narrowest bar, and everything else depends on it. Below the slider the tool shows the resulting size in millimeters when printed at 300 dots per inch.

Do not shrink a code below 80% of its nominal size: scanners start to miss it. ITF-14 has a frame of thick bars around the edges, which serves as a guide for the scanner and is required by the standard.

The quiet zone is the empty space to the left and right of the bars. The scanner needs it to find where the code starts and ends, so turn it off only when the label layout provides its own margin.

About registering codes

The tool draws any code you enter. To sell a product through retail chains, the number has to come from GS1: only then is it unique and guaranteed not to clash with another company's product. For internal bookkeeping, inventory and documents, any number will do.