Barcode Generator — EAN, UPC, Code 128 and More

What is a Barcode Generator?

A barcode generator (बारकोड जनरेटर) turns a number or short text into the familiar pattern of black bars and white spaces that scanners read in a split second. Barcodes are everywhere — on grocery products, books, courier parcels, library cards, warehouse shelves, event tickets and office asset tags. Small businesses, shopkeepers, e-commerce sellers, teachers and makers often need a barcode quickly, without buying software.

This free tool creates barcodes in seven common formats: Code 128, EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, Code 39, ITF-14 and Codabar. It checks your input, calculates the check digit automatically for retail and carton codes, lets you adjust size and colours, and exports a high-resolution PNG, a sharp vector SVG or a print-out. Everything runs in your browser using the open-source JsBarcode library (MIT licence).

Key Features

• Seven formats for retail, logistics, inventory and libraries.
• Automatic check digit for EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A and ITF-14.
• Check digit verification when you type the full number.
• Clear validation — explains exactly what is wrong.
• Customise bar width, height, text size, bar and background colour.
• PNG at 3× resolution for crisp printing.
• SVG vector output for designers and label software.
• Print just the barcode in one click.

How to Create a Barcode

1. Choose the barcode type from the list. A sample value appears.
2. Enter your value. For EAN-13 type 12 digits, for UPC-A 11, for EAN-8 7, for ITF-14 13 — the check digit is added.
3. Read the note under the preview: it confirms the check digit or explains any problem.
4. Adjust the style — wider bars and more height scan more easily.
5. Download PNG or SVG, or press Print.

Which Barcode Type Do You Need?

How Check Digits Work

EAN, UPC and ITF-14 codes end with a check digit that protects against mistakes. If one digit is misread or mistyped, the check fails and the scanner rejects it instead of selling the wrong product. All of these use the same GS1 “mod 10” rule:

1. Start with the rightmost data digit (not counting the check digit).
2. Multiply it by 3, the next one to the left by 1, the next by 3, and so on.
3. Add all the results.
4. The check digit is whatever you must add to reach the next multiple of 10 (0 if the sum already is one).

Example: for the EAN-13 data 400638133393, the weighted sum is 89. The next multiple of 10 is 90, so the check digit is 1 and the full code is 4006381333931. Likewise the UPC-A data 03600029145 gets check digit 2 (036000291452) and the EAN-8 data 9638507 gets 4 (96385074). This tool does the maths for you.

Selling Products? Read This About GS1

A barcode is just a picture of a number. For products sold in supermarkets, chemists and on marketplaces such as Amazon or Flipkart, that number must be unique worldwide, and the organisation that manages these numbers is GS1. In India, companies get their numbers from GS1 India, and Indian EAN-13 codes begin with the prefix 890. Once you have licensed numbers, you can use this generator to draw the barcodes for your labels. Making up an EAN-13 number may produce a valid-looking barcode that clashes with someone else's product, so retailers can reject it. For internal use — your own stock room, a library, office assets or event tickets — use Code 128 with any numbering you like.

Printing Barcodes That Scan

• Contrast: black bars on a white background are best. Avoid red bars (most scanners use red light and see red as white) and dark backgrounds.
• Quiet zone: leave blank space on the left and right — the generator adds a margin, so do not crop it off.
• Size: for EAN-13 the nominal size is about 37.3 × 25.9 mm; GS1 allows roughly 80%–200% of that. Code 128 gets wider as the text gets longer, so keep labels short.
• Height: do not squash barcodes into thin strips; height helps scanners at an angle.
• Use SVG for print designs, or the high-resolution PNG. Avoid scaling a small PNG up — blurry edges cause misreads.
• Test before printing in bulk with a phone scanner app or a handheld scanner.

Worked Example: Barcoding a Small Shop's Stock

Suppose you run a stationery shop and want to scan items at the counter with a cheap USB barcode scanner, but many products have no barcode. Make up a simple internal code for each item — for example PEN-BLU-001 for a blue pen and NB-A4-200 for an A4 notebook — and list them in a spreadsheet with prices. Choose Code 128, type the first code, set the height to about 60 px and download the PNG. Repeat for each item (or download SVGs and arrange them on an A4 sheet in a design app), print on sticker paper and stick the labels on the shelf or products. A USB scanner behaves like a keyboard, so scanning a label types the code into your spreadsheet or billing software, which looks up the price. Because these codes are only used inside your shop, you do not need GS1 numbers — keep GS1 EAN-13 codes for products you sell through other retailers.

Popular Uses

• Shop inventory and price labels (Code 128).
• Product packaging with GS1-issued EAN-13 numbers.
• Courier and warehouse labels.
• Library books and member cards.
• Office asset tags for laptops and furniture.
• School ID cards and event entry passes.

Barcode or QR Code?

Linear barcodes hold a short number or code and are read by almost every retail and warehouse scanner. QR codes hold much more — full web addresses, Wi-Fi details, UPI payments, Hindi text — and are read by phone cameras. Use a barcode when the system expects one (retail tills, inventory scanners); use a QR code when people will scan with phones. Create those with our QR Code Generator.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Typing the wrong length — EAN-13 needs 12 or 13 digits, not 10 or 14.
• Inventing retail numbers — license them from GS1.
• Low contrast colours — pastel bars may look nice but fail to scan.
• Cropping the margins — scanners need the quiet zone.
• Using Code 39 for long text — it is wide; Code 128 is more compact.

Quick Glossary

• Symbology: a barcode format, such as EAN-13 or Code 128.
• Check digit: a calculated digit that catches errors.
• Quiet zone: blank space required on both sides of a barcode.
• GS1: the global organisation that issues product numbers.
• GTIN: Global Trade Item Number — the number inside EAN/UPC/ITF-14 codes.

Why Use This Barcode Generator?

It supports the formats businesses actually use, calculates check digits correctly, exports print-ready files without watermarks and keeps your data in your browser — free for shops, sellers and makers.

No account, no watermark and no limits — just choose a format, type, and download.

Barcode Generator — Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

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