EAN-13 Generator
EAN-13 is the barcode on almost every consumer product in Europe. It carries a 13-digit GTIN and is what a supermarket checkout scanner expects to see.
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Générer un code unique
Saisie directe d'un code – aperçu en direct, téléchargement PNG ou SVG. Tout reste local.
12 ou 13 chiffres – la clé est ajoutée automatiquement pour 12 chiffres.
4012345678901EAN-13 at a glance
- 13 digits: GS1 company prefix, item reference and one mod-10 check digit.
- The first digits are the GS1 prefix – 400–440 is Germany, 30–37 France, 50 the United Kingdom.
- Nominal size is 37.29 × 25.93 mm; do not print below 80% magnification.
- A UPC-A number becomes EAN-13 by adding a leading zero.
Create an EAN-13 barcode
- Type 12 digits and let the tool add the check digit – or paste all 13 to verify an existing number.
- Watch the live preview; an invalid check digit is reported immediately.
- Download SVG for packaging artwork or PNG for quick use.
How the 13 digits are structured
An EAN-13 number is a GTIN-13. It is not a serial number you invent: the leading digits are the GS1 company prefix licensed to you by your national GS1 organisation, the middle block is the item reference you assign yourself, and the last digit is the mod-10 check digit calculated from the other twelve.
- GS1 prefix (2–3 digits): indicates the issuing GS1 member organisation, not the country of manufacture.
- Company prefix (in total 7–10 digits including the GS1 prefix): licensed to one company.
- Item reference: assigned by you – one number per product variant, size, colour and pack size.
- Check digit: recalculated whenever any earlier digit changes.
The check digit, worked through
Take the twelve digits, multiply them alternately by 1 and 3 starting from the left, add the products, then subtract the sum from the next multiple of ten. Example for 401234567890: 4·1 + 0·3 + 1·1 + 2·3 + 3·1 + 4·3 + 5·1 + 6·3 + 7·1 + 8·3 + 9·1 + 0·3 = 4+0+1+6+3+12+5+18+7+24+9+0 = 89. The next multiple of ten is 90, so the check digit is 1 and the full number is 4012345678901.
Print size: magnification, X dimension and quiet zones
EAN-13 has a defined nominal size at 100% magnification. GS1 permits scaling between 80% and 200% for retail point of sale; anything smaller is outside the specification and will start failing at checkout. Crucially, the quiet zones scale with the symbol and are part of it – the little arrow marks in the artwork exist to stop designers from cropping them.
- Left quiet zone: 11 × X dimension. Right quiet zone: 7 × X dimension.
- Do not truncate the bar height. Shortened bars force the scanner to hit one narrow line and slow down every checkout.
- Bars must be dark on a light background: black, dark blue, dark green or dark brown on white or a light warm tone.
- Never print red, orange or yellow bars – classic red laser scanners see them as white.
- On transparent or metallic packaging, add a white panel behind the symbol.
| Magnification | X dimension | Width incl. quiet zones | Height |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80% (minimum) | 0.264 mm × 0.8 ≈ 0.211 mm | 29.83 mm | 20.74 mm |
| 90% | ≈ 0.238 mm | 33.56 mm | 23.34 mm |
| 100% (nominal) | 0.330 mm (module 0.264 mm) | 37.29 mm | 25.93 mm |
| 150% | ≈ 0.396 mm | 55.94 mm | 38.90 mm |
| 200% (maximum) | ≈ 0.528 mm | 74.58 mm | 51.86 mm |
EAN-13, UPC-A and ISBN
The same number appears under different names depending on the market and industry. Getting the relationship right avoids duplicate product records in a retailer's catalogue.
- UPC-A (GTIN-12) becomes an EAN-13 by prefixing a zero – the check digit does not change.
- Books use ISBN-13, which is an EAN-13 starting with prefix 978 or 979 (Bookland).
- Magazines and journals use 977 (ISSN); coupons use 99 in most countries.
- Prefixes 02 and 20–29 are restricted distribution: valid inside your own store or warehouse, never in open retail.
- Prefix 978/979 aside, the prefix tells you which GS1 office issued the prefix – not where the product was made.
| Symbol | Digits | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| EAN-13 | 13 | Standard consumer unit sold in Europe and most of the world |
| UPC-A | 12 | Consumer unit sold primarily in the USA and Canada |
| EAN-8 | 8 | Pack is too small for EAN-13 (chewing gum, cosmetics samples) |
| ITF-14 | 14 | Case, carton or pallet layer, not scanned at checkout |
| GS1-128 | variable | Batch, best-before or serial data must travel with the item |
Add-on symbols: EAN-5 and EAN-2
Books and periodicals often carry a smaller companion symbol to the right of the main code. EAN-5 usually holds a suggested retail price (the first digit is the currency indicator), EAN-2 holds an issue number for magazines. They are optional and only meaningful in those industries.
Common mistakes that break a retail barcode
Retailers reject artwork surprisingly often, and almost always for the same handful of reasons. Check all of these before sending files to print.
- Excel dropped the leading zero or converted the number to scientific notation – always store GTINs as text.
- The number was reused for a different pack size; each variant needs its own GTIN.
- The barcode image was placed as a small JPEG and scaled up, blurring the bar edges.
- Ink spread on absorbent board was not compensated by bar width reduction.
- The symbol was placed over a fold, a seam or a curved bottle radius.
- The check digit was typed by hand instead of calculated – verify it before printing.
Frequently asked questions
- Where do I get a valid EAN-13 number?
- From GS1 in your country. They assign the company prefix; only then are your numbers unique worldwide and accepted by retailers.
- Can I use a random number for internal use?
- For purely internal purposes the GS1 restricted prefixes 20–29 exist. Never use random numbers on products sold in retail.
- How small can I print it?
- GS1 allows 80% to 200% magnification. Below that, checkout scanners start to fail.
- Can I reuse a GTIN after a product is discontinued?
- GS1 asks you to wait at least 48 months after the last delivery before reassigning a GTIN, and never to reuse numbers for apparel. In practice, with a company prefix giving you thousands of numbers, reuse is rarely worth the risk of stale catalogue data.
- Do I need a new GTIN when the packaging changes?
- Yes if the net quantity, the composition or the pack count changes. A pure design refresh with identical content keeps its number.
- Why does my scanner read the code but the till rejects it?
- Then the symbol is fine and the master data is not – the GTIN is simply not registered in that retailer's item file. That is a data-onboarding step, not a printing problem.
- What grade must a printed barcode achieve?
- Retail contracts typically require ISO/IEC 15416 grade 1.5/C or better, measured with a verifier at 670 nm. A visual check is not a substitute – contrast and edge defects are invisible to the eye.
- Is it legal to generate my own EAN-13 for a private sale?
- For internal use inside your own business, use a restricted prefix (20–29). Selling through retail or a marketplace with a number that is not licensed to you causes duplicate listings and is usually a breach of the platform's terms.
Standards and official sources
These links point to the official GS1 and ISO specifications this generator follows. They open in a new tab on the standards bodies' own websites.