How to Create a Barcode for Your Product (Step-by-Step)

Whether you’re launching a product on Amazon, getting stocked at a local retailer, or setting up inventory for your small business, you’ll need a barcode. This guide walks you through every step — from choosing the right format to generating and printing your final barcode.

Step 1: Determine Which Barcode Format You Need

Before generating anything, identify what type of barcode your situation requires:

For retail products sold in stores:

• North America (US/Canada): UPC-A (12-digit)
• International (Europe, Asia, everywhere else): EAN-13 (13-digit)
• Both markets: EAN-13 (most modern US scanners read it)

For Amazon listings:

• Amazon requires a valid UPC, EAN, or ISBN from a GS1 member company
• Counterfeit or recycled barcodes violate Amazon’s policy and risk account suspension

For internal use (inventory, assets, shipments):

• Code 128 (most flexible, no registration required)
• You can encode any data you want

For books:

• ISBN-13 barcode (you must obtain an ISBN from your national agency first)

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Step 2: Get a Legitimate Barcode Number (for Retail)

If you’re selling in retail stores or on major platforms like Amazon, you need a barcode number that’s registered to your company through GS1 — the global organization that manages product identification standards. This is a separate step from generating the barcode image.

Why GS1 Numbers Matter

A GS1 Company Prefix ensures your product number is globally unique. Retailers and platforms cross-reference barcode numbers against the GS1 database. Using unregistered or resold barcodes can cause:

• Product delisting from Amazon or major retailers
• Scanning failures at checkout
• Supply chain data corruption

How to Get a GS1 Number

1. Visit gs1.org (or your national GS1 member organization)
2. Register for a GS1 Company Prefix
   • In the US: GS1 US (gs1us.org) — annual fees range from ~$30/year for a single GTIN up to $2,500+/year for a company prefix covering 10,000 products
   • In the UK: GS1 UK (gs1uk.org)
   • One prefix lets you create thousands of unique product codes
3. You’ll receive a company prefix (typically 7-9 digits)
4. Assign your own item reference numbers to each product
5. Calculate the check digit (our generator does this automatically)

Budget Option: Single GTIN Licenses

If you only need 1-10 barcodes, some GS1 member organizations offer single GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) purchases at lower cost than a full company prefix. Check your national GS1 organization for pricing.

Avoid: Third-party sites selling “resold” or “recycled” UPCs. These are numbers previously assigned to other companies that were somehow acquired and resold. Amazon actively identifies these and has strict policies against them.

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Step 3: Structure Your Barcode Number

Once you have your GS1 prefix, structure your product number:

EAN-13 structure:

XXX XXXX XXXXX X
 └── GS1 prefix (3 digits)
      └── Company prefix (4 digits)
                └── Item reference (5 digits)
                         └── Check digit (auto-calculated)

UPC-A structure:

X XXXXX XXXXX X
└── GS1 prefix (1 digit for US)
    └── Company prefix (5 digits)
               └── Item reference (5 digits)
                         └── Check digit (auto-calculated)

Assign a unique item reference number to each product variation — different sizes, colors, flavors, and pack quantities each need their own barcode.

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Step 4: Generate Your Barcode

Now you’re ready to generate the actual barcode image.

1. Go to our free barcode generator
2. Select EAN-13 or UPC-A from the type selector
3. Enter your 12-digit number (for EAN-13) or 11-digit number (for UPC-A) — the check digit is calculated automatically
4. The barcode preview updates in real-time
5. Adjust the size if needed (standard retail barcode height is 25mm minimum)
6. Download as SVG for print production, or PNG for digital use

Barcode Size Requirements for Retail

GS1 specifies acceptable barcode sizes for retail use:

Measurement	Minimum	Nominal	Maximum
Height	18.28mm	25.91mm	69.84mm
Width (magnification)	80%	100%	200%
Quiet zones	3.63mm each side	—	—

The “nominal” size is the standard used in most retail environments. For small packaging, you can go down to 80% magnification, but scanning reliability decreases below 100%.

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Step 5: Print and Test Your Barcode

Printing Guidelines

• Use vector format: Always use SVG (or ask your designer to use the SVG) when sending to a printer. Raster images (PNG/JPEG) may lose quality when scaled.
• Minimum print quality: 300 DPI or higher for offset printing; 600 DPI for digital/inkjet
• Color: Black bars on white background is safest. Dark green or navy on white also works. Avoid red (invisible to laser scanners) and yellow/orange backgrounds.
• Substrate: Smooth, matte paper is best. Highly glossy or rough surfaces can cause scan failures.

Testing Before You Print

Always verify your barcode scans correctly before committing to a print run:

1. Use our free barcode scanner to verify the barcode reads correctly
2. Check the scanned value matches what you entered
3. Test with multiple scanner types if possible (laser scanner, smartphone app)
4. Check that the check digit is correct

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Step 6: Integrate With Your Sales Channels

Amazon

1. In Seller Central, go to Add a Product
2. Enter your UPC or EAN in the product ID field
3. Amazon will look up the GS1 database — ensure your brand is enrolled in Brand Registry for best results
4. Note: Amazon now requires barcodes from GS1-registered prefixes

Shopify

1. In your product listing, scroll to Inventory
2. Enter your barcode in the Barcode (ISBN, UPC, GTIN, etc.) field
3. Shopify supports EAN-13, UPC-A, and ISBN formats

Physical Retail

Contact the retailer’s buying team — they’ll typically request:

• Your GS1 Company Prefix documentation
• Product data sheet with barcode and product details
• Sometimes: GS1 Cloud (global product registry) listing

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using resold or recycled barcodes Purchasing barcodes from unauthorized resellers violates GS1 policy and can get your products removed from major platforms.

2. Reusing barcodes across different products Each unique product (different size, color, flavor, packaging) needs its own unique barcode. Never reuse a barcode from a discontinued product.

3. Printing barcodes at too small a size Below 80% of nominal size, scan failure rates increase significantly. When in doubt, print larger.

4. Using the wrong format for your market EAN-13 works globally. UPC-A only works guaranteed in North America (though most modern scanners worldwide read both).

5. Not testing before mass production Always verify your barcode scans correctly before printing thousands of labels. A non-scanning barcode costs money to reprint and can delay your product launch.

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Summary

Creating a product barcode is straightforward once you understand the process:

1. Determine whether you need a registered GS1 number (required for retail) or can self-assign (internal use)
2. Get your GS1 number if needed — register at gs1.org
3. Structure your GTIN by combining your company prefix with a unique item reference
4. Generate the barcode using our free generator — check digit calculated automatically
5. Print at the correct size with appropriate resolution
6. Test before mass production

For quick internal barcodes without registration requirements, skip to step 4 — our generator supports Code 128 with any data you want to encode.