EAN-13 barcode generator
The 13 digits on nearly every product in a European shop. Type yours, the check digit is verified live, and the bars come out print-ready.
Guide
How to use it
- Enter all 13 digits of your assigned EAN. The tool validates the check digit as you type.
- If validation fails, the message tells you the correct final digit, a typo somewhere is the usual culprit.
- Download SVG for packaging artwork and label printing, PNG for documents.
- Print at 80% to 200% of nominal size (37.3 mm wide at 100%) in black on a pale background.
Examples
Reading the 13 digits
The first digits are the GS1 prefix: 500-509 indicates a UK-registered company. The prefix identifies the registrant’s country, not where the product was made.
For 5012345678900: weight the first 12 digits alternately 1,3,1,3…, sum them (here 110), and the check digit is what tops the sum up to a multiple of ten, 0. The tool does this live.
Book barcodes are EAN-13s starting 978 or 979, the ISBN with its own check digit recalculated. Type a 13-digit ISBN here and you have a valid book barcode.
Method
How it works
EAN-13 encodes the digits as 95 modules of alternating bars and spaces, with the first digit encoded implicitly in the pattern parity of the left half, which is why it appears outside the bars. The check digit uses modulo-10 with 1-3 weighting, validated here before rendering.
Real retail use requires digits assigned through GS1 membership, this generator turns assigned numbers into scannable artwork, it cannot conjure ownership of a number.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get an EAN-13 number?
From GS1 (gs1uk.org in the UK), you license a company prefix and allocate product numbers under it. Marketplaces increasingly verify codes against the GS1 database.
Can I buy single EANs cheaply from resellers?
They exist, but the prefix stays registered to the reseller, and some retailers and marketplaces reject such codes. For a real product line, GS1 membership is the clean route.
What is the difference from an ISBN or UPC?
ISBNs are book EANs starting 978/979. UPC-A is the 12-digit US format, an EAN-13 starting 0 contains a UPC. All use the same check digit family.
What size must it print?
Nominal is 37.3 × 25.9 mm, acceptable is 80% to 200%. Below 80% many scanners struggle, and never scale width and height independently.
Can it be a colour other than black?
Dark bars on a pale background scan, black on white is safest. Red bars fail, most scanner lasers are red and see red as blank.
Does this tool register anything?
No, it renders artwork for digits you already have, locally in your browser.
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