Barcode generator

For your own labels (stock, assets, shipping, tickets) use Code 128: it holds any text and every scanner reads it. EAN-13 (worldwide) and UPC-A (US and Canada) are for products sold in shops, and EAN-8 and UPC-E are their shorter forms for small packages. ISBN is the EAN-13 printed on books; it begins with 978 or 979. Code 39 and Code 93 are older codes for capital letters and digits. ITF-14 is for cartons and cases, and Interleaved 2 of 5 is the same code without the frame. Codabar is found on older library, laboratory and shipping labels.

Only with a number that is yours. Shops and most online marketplaces expect a number that GS1, or its office in your country, has assigned to your company. This tool draws a barcode for any number you type; it cannot give you one, and a number you make up may belong to someone else’s product. For labels used inside your own business, use Code 128, or an EAN-13 that begins with 2, which is set aside for use inside a single store or company. ISBNs come from your national ISBN agency.

The last digit of an EAN, UPC, ISBN or ITF-14 number is calculated from the others, so a scanner can tell when it has misread a digit. Type the number without it and the tool adds it. Type the whole number and the tool checks it: if the digit is wrong it says what it should be, instead of drawing a barcode that scanners would reject.

No. The barcode is drawn in your browser by code on this page. What you type is not sent anywhere or stored. A barcode holds the value itself: there is no link through our servers and no counter.

PNG is a picture for screens, documents and spreadsheets. The narrowest bar is a whole number of pixels, which keeps the edges sharp, so do not resize the PNG afterwards: scaling smooths the edges and can make the code unreadable. SVG is made of lines and prints sharply at any size, so use it for labels, packaging and anything you will scale. The numbers under the bars are part of the picture, drawn in a small built-in pixel font, so they look the same everywhere.

Check the usual causes. The bars should be dark on a light background; many scanners cannot read light bars on dark. Keep the empty margins on both sides. Print the narrowest bar at least about 0.25 mm wide (2 pixels at 300 dpi is only 0.17 mm). Do not stretch the picture. Make the bars tall enough for a scanner to cross the whole code in one sweep. And check that the scanner is set to read your type: many ignore very short Interleaved 2 of 5 and Codabar codes.

For EAN-13, UPC-A and EAN-8 the standard’s normal size has a narrowest bar of 0.33 mm, which makes an EAN-13 or a UPC-A about 37 mm wide with its margins, and the size may be scaled between 80% and 200%. At 300 dpi, 4 pixels is 0.34 mm, so the default size suits printing at 300 dpi. If the barcode goes on retail packaging, ask the shop or your GS1 office for their rules.

A small second barcode to the right of an EAN, UPC or ISBN code. Two digits carry an issue number (magazines and newspapers) and five digits carry a price or edition code (books). Scanners that support add-ons read both together. Leave it empty for ordinary products.

Not yet. This tool makes the eleven kinds in the list. Code 128 here is plain Code 128, without the application identifiers of GS1-128. For QR codes, use the QR code generator.

No. Everything happens in your browser. Your text is not uploaded or stored.

Yes, you can use it for free. A subscription removes limits and unlocks premium tools.