How do I make an EAN-13 barcode?
To make an EAN-13 barcode, type the 12 digits of your number, or all 13 with the check digit, and download the barcode as PNG or SVG. The page takes digits only. Type 12 and the page adds the 13th; type 13 with a wrong last digit and the page refuses the number and tells you the digit it expected, and it never changes your number silently. A number that looks like it lost its leading zero gets a warning and is not changed. The page checks the length and the check digit; it does not look the number up, so it cannot tell whether the number is registered or yours. The downloaded files hold only the barcode, with no watermark, and you need no account to get them. What you type is encoded in your browser and is not sent to our servers.
What is an EAN-13 barcode?
An EAN-13 is the barcode for a 13-digit GTIN, the number GS1 also calls GTIN-13, EAN or JAN, mostly used in Europe and the rest of the world (GS1 Support). The first 12 digits are the number and the 13th is the check digit, which GS1 US describes as a single number added to detect errors (GS1 US). Every file keeps the quiet zone, the blank margin each side of the bars: 11 modules on the left and 7 on the right, where one module is the Bar width the tool shows.
Why does the generator open with 200012345678?
The page opens with 200012345678 as an example number, so a barcode is already drawn when you arrive; type your own number over it. With its check digit, 2, the barcode holds 2000123456782. It is an example only: the page gives you no product number, so before you print or sell with a barcode, use the number you got from GS1.
How is the EAN-13 check digit calculated?
The EAN-13 check digit is the 13th digit, calculated from the first 12 so that a number typed or read wrongly can be caught. In GS1's manual method you multiply the digits by 3 and 1 in turn, starting with 3 on the digit at the far right, add the products, and subtract the sum from the next multiple of ten (GS1: how to calculate a check digit manually). For 200012345678 the sum is 78, the next multiple of ten is 80, and the check digit is 2, so the number is 2000123456782. When the sum is already a multiple of ten, the check digit is 0.
| Digit | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 | 12 |
| 5 | 1 | 5 |
| 6 | 3 | 18 |
| 7 | 1 | 7 |
| 8 | 3 | 24 |
| Sum | all 12 products | 78 |
| Check digit | 80 minus 78 | 2 |
What size is an EAN-13 barcode in mm?
At the 100% size this page draws an EAN-13 38.3 mm wide and 27.1 mm high, quiet zones and digits included, and the Size menu runs from 80% to 200% of the 0.33 mm bar. GS1 Canada lists 37.29 mm as the width of an EAN-13 at 100%, quiet zones included (GS1 Canada, EAN/UPC Symbol Reference, 2018); the file is a little wider because the page rounds the bar to whole pixels, 0.339 mm at 100% instead of 0.33 mm. At 300 dpi the 80% size comes out equal to 100%, because a bar cannot be a fraction of a pixel.
For automated scanning, such as in logistics, GS1 Canada recommends 150% to 200% (GS1 Canada, EAN/UPC Symbol Reference, 2018); of the sizes in the Size menu, only 200% falls inside that range. The Bar height menu offers Standard, Short and Tall, and Short on an EAN-13 shows the warning "Shorter than the GS1 height". Units shows the sizes in millimeters or inches.
| Size | Bar width | Width with quiet zones | Height with digits | GS1 Canada width, quiet zones included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 80% | 0.296 | 33.5 | 23.7 | 29.83 |
| 100% | 0.339 | 38.3 | 27.1 | 37.29 |
| 200% | 0.635 | 71.8 | 50.8 | 74.58 |
Where does an EAN-13 number come from?
An EAN-13 number comes from GS1, and GS1 states that it is the only official provider of GTINs and EAN/UPC barcodes worldwide (GS1). The number starts with a GS1 Company Prefix obtained from a GS1 member organization (GS1: 10 steps to barcode your product). This page makes no numbers: it draws the one you type.
Do the first digits of an EAN-13 show the country where it was made?
No: GS1 says that GS1 Prefixes do not identify the country where a product was made, because the companies that use them can manufacture products anywhere in the world (GS1: GS1 Company Prefix).
How is an EAN-13 different from a UPC-A?
A UPC-A has 12 digits and an EAN-13 has 13: GS1 Support describes the UPC as mostly used in North America and the EAN in Europe and the rest of the world, and GS1 US says both can be used internationally (GS1 US). On this page you type 12 digits and the page adds the 13th; a UPC-A takes 11 or 12. This page draws EAN-13 only: for UPC-A, EAN-8 or Code 128, open the barcode generator.
How do I make many EAN-13 barcodes at once?
To make many EAN-13 barcodes at once, switch to Bulk, paste one number per line, and download one ZIP file with up to 1,000 SVG or 100 PNG barcodes. Each line is checked as a single number is: a line of 12 digits gets its check digit added, a line of 13 digits is checked, and a wrong one stops the download and is named, for example "Line 3". There is no CSV or Excel import: paste the list.
How do I print EAN-13 barcodes at the right size?
To print at the right size, choose Print at true size: it lays the barcodes on a printable A4 or US Letter page at the size shown in Printed size, with a 50 mm ruler on every page. In the print window, choose Scale 100% (Actual size) and turn off Fit to page; the ruler on the page should measure 50 mm. In our test of the print PDF that Chromium makes, the ruler measured 50.0 mm; the size on paper still depends on your print window, so check the ruler on your own printout.
Why won't my EAN-13 barcode scan?
An EAN-13 barcode may not scan because of low contrast, bars in the wrong color, a cropped quiet zone, bars printed too small, or a wrong check digit. GS1 Canada says black bars on a white background give good contrast, and advises against red, orange and yellow bars because the scanner's laser is red (GS1 Canada, guide for designers and printers, 2024). Keep the whole blank margin, 11 modules on the left and 7 on the right of an EAN-13, and do not cut it off. Before each published version of the site, our tests draw each format, size and resolution, EAN-13 included, as PNG and SVG in Chromium, Firefox and WebKit, and read every file back with a software decoder; the files this page downloads are read back too. Scanning a printed label and handheld scanners are not part of those tests, so print one label and scan it before you print a batch.