EAN-13 barcode generator
Turn your 13-digit product number into a retail barcode. We work out the check digit, size it to the GS1 standard, and test-scan it before you download.
1. Content
2. Size and style
Bulk barcodes PRO
Make up to 500 barcodes in your current type and style. Each one is test-scanned, and the ZIP includes an index.csv with the results.
What is a EAN-13 barcode?
EAN-13 is the barcode on most retail products sold outside the US and Canada, and checkouts in North America read it too. It holds a 13-digit GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) and nothing else: the product's name and price live in the shop's system, which looks the number up.
The digits are a GS1 company prefix, an item reference you choose for each product, and a check digit calculated from the other twelve. The first two or three digits show which GS1 office issued the prefix (for example 50 for the UK, or 400 to 440 for Germany). They don't say where the product was made.
Where it's used
- Products sold in supermarkets and shops
- Marketplaces such as Amazon that ask for a GTIN
- Books (ISBN, prefix 978 or 979) and magazines (ISSN, prefix 977)
- Stock control in your own warehouse
How to make a EAN-13 barcode
Get your number
Retailers expect a GTIN licensed to your company by GS1. Each product, size and color needs its own number.
Enter 12 or 13 digits
Type the first 12 digits and we add the check digit, or all 13 and we check it. A wrong check digit almost always means a typo.
Download and test
PNG is free. For packaging, use SVG, PDF or EPS so the printer gets sharp vector bars. Print a sample at the final size and scan it.
Sizing and printing a EAN-13 barcode
Standard size
At 100% magnification the module (the narrowest bar) is 0.33 mm, and the whole symbol including its margins is 37.29 × 25.93 mm. You can scale it from 80% (0.264 mm) to 200% (0.66 mm); stay inside that range.
Keep the quiet zones
Leave blank space of at least 11 modules on the left and 7 on the right: about 3.6 mm and 2.3 mm at 100%. No text, edges, folds or seams there.
Don't cut the height
Shortening (truncating) the bars makes the code harder to read at a checkout, where it's scanned from any angle. Keep the full height when you have room.
Colors that scan
Black bars on white are safest. Checkout scanners light the code with red light, so red, orange and yellow bars vanish to them, and so does a red background behind black bars.
Match the printer
Pick a module width that is a whole number of printer dots, so every bar comes out the same width. On a 300 dpi label printer, 4 dots make a 0.339 mm module.
Use a vector file for print
SVG, PDF and EPS stay sharp at any size, so packaging designers and print shops prefer them. For PNG, download at your printer's resolution and place it at 100%.
EAN-13 questions
Can I make up my own EAN-13 number?
For your own stock control, yes. To sell through retailers or marketplaces, you need a GTIN licensed to your company by GS1. They check numbers against the GS1 registry, and a made-up number may already belong to someone else.
How is the check digit worked out?
Starting from the right of the first 12 digits, multiply the digits alternately by 3 and 1, add them up, and take the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10. We do this as you type.
What's the difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?
UPC-A is the 12-digit code used in the US and Canada. It's the same symbol as an EAN-13 that starts with 0, so modern scanners everywhere read both. Use the one your retailers ask for.
What is the 2 or 5 digit add-on?
A small extra barcode on the right. Magazines use 2 digits for the issue number and books use 5 digits for a suggested price. Most products don't need one.
What's the smallest EAN-13 I can print?
80% magnification: a 0.264 mm module, about 29.8 mm wide including the quiet zones. If that still doesn't fit, ask GS1 about an EAN-8 number.
Which file should I send to my printer?
A vector file (SVG, PDF or EPS), so the bars stay crisp at any size. If you only have a PNG, choose 300 DPI or more and place it at 100% scale.