Barcode · EAN-13

Generate a print-ready EAN-13 barcode

Type the number, let the check digit be worked out for you, and download at a resolution that will not fail at the scanner.

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What EAN-13 is and how it is read

EAN-13 is the 13-digit code on almost every retail product in Europe, Africa and most of the world. The first digits identify the country where the prefix was registered, the middle ones identify the company and the product, and the last one is a **check digit** calculated from the other twelve. If that final digit does not add up, the scanner rejects the code — the most common mistake when people type the number by hand.

  • 12 digits you choose + 1 calculated check digit
  • The check digit is verified automatically as you generate
  • For very small products there is EAN-8, with 8 digits

Internal use and retail sale are not the same thing

Here is the part almost no generator explains. For **internal management** — inventory, warehouse, assets, shelf labels, production sheets — you can use any number and the code works perfectly with any scanner. To **sell through a retail chain**, the number has to come from a company prefix bought from GS1, otherwise you collide with someone else’s product and the shop rejects the item. No generator, this one included, can assign you a valid prefix: that is a registration, not a drawing.

  • Internal use: any number works, right away
  • Retail: you need a GS1 prefix registered in your name
  • Reusing another product’s code causes till errors and returns

Printing without scan failures

Most codes that fail to scan fail at printing, not at generation. Bars need strong contrast and clear space around them — the so-called quiet zone. Download high-resolution PNG or SVG (which loses no sharpness at any size) and avoid stretching the image horizontally only, because that changes the relative width of the bars.

  • Black on white — avoid coloured backgrounds and transparency
  • Leave white margin to the left and right of the bars
  • Never distort the image: always resize proportionally
  • Test with the real scanner, or a phone camera, before printing the whole run

Barcode · EAN-13

Only if the digits come from a company prefix you registered with GS1. The code you generate here is technically valid and scans anywhere, but the number itself has to be yours — otherwise it clashes with another company’s product.

Generate my EAN-13 barcode

Free, no account, ready to download in high resolution.