How to create a barcode for a product
Five steps, in the order they actually arise — and the printing mistake that ruins an otherwise perfectly built code.
1. Work out where the code will be scanned
This is the one question that changes everything else. If your product is only scanned inside your own business — your shelves, your stock, your till — an internal code is enough, free and immediate.
If it has to be scanned elsewhere — a supermarket, another shop, a marketplace — you need a number issued by GS1. No software can work around that rule: the retailer checks that the number is registered.
2. Pick the format from what you are labelling
Standard names help nobody. What matters is the object the code will be stuck on.
| What you are labelling | Format |
|---|---|
| A product sold in shops: sachet, box, bottle | EAN-13 |
| Packaging too small for a full barcode | EAN-8 |
| A product sold in the US or Canada | UPC-A |
| A shipping carton, a pallet | ITF-14 |
| A label carrying a batch or expiry date | GS1-128 |
| Your stock, equipment and internal references | Code 128 |
| A book or publication | ISBN |
| A link to scan with a phone | QR Code |
3. Get the number
If you have a GS1 company prefix, enter it: products are numbered behind it and the check digit is computed for you.
If you have none and the code stays inside your business, an internal number is derived from your product name or reference. The same reference always gives the same code, so you do not have to keep a register.
If you already have a number — printed on your product, or given by your supplier — enter it as it is.
4. Check the print size
Neither the width nor the height of the code decides whether it reads: what decides is the width of the narrowest bar once printed. Too narrow and tills stop reading it; too wide and you waste packaging space.
Choose the size in millimetres and read the verdict before printing. A code announced as readable has to be readable at the size it will actually come out.
5. Print at 100 %
This is the most common cause of an unreadable code, and it strikes after everything else has been done right. In the print dialog, set the scale to 100 % and turn off “fit to page”: that option shrinks the drawing and pushes the bars below the readable threshold.
Prefer a laser printer to inkjet on plain paper: ink spreads, bars widen and contrast is lost.
Before running a large batch, print a single label and scan it with a phone. A minute of checking saves reprinting a thousand stickers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay to create a barcode?
Creating and printing the code is free. What costs money is the allocation of a GS1 number, needed only if your product is sold outside your own business.
What size should a barcode be?
It depends on the format and the surface. What matters is the width of the narrowest bar once printed: that is what determines whether a scanner copes, and that is what to check rather than the overall label size.
Can I create several codes at once?
Yes, up to fifty at a time, each with its own number. The list can be exported as CSV and the labels laid out on an A4 sheet ready to print.
Where should the barcode go on the packaging?
On a flat surface, away from folds and sharp curves, leaving a white margin on each side of the drawing. A code placed on a corner or a rounded area becomes hard to read.
My barcode does not scan — why?
In order of frequency: the print was shrunk by “fit to page”, the bars are too fine for the surface, ink is spreading on plain paper, or there is not enough white margin around the code.
You can create your code now, with no account.
Create my barcodeUpdated 9 September 2026.