About UPC Generator

What the tools give you

Seven tools draw one format each: UPC, EAN-13, ITF-14, Code 128, Code 39, Data Matrix and PDF417. Three more help around them, ten tools in all: a barcode generator covering every format, a check digit calculator and a SKU list builder. Each one updates as you type, and the barcode tools give you SVG, PNG and PDF files with no watermark and no sign-up.

Everything runs in your browser. The numbers you type are never uploaded, and the site's security settings block its pages from sending data to other websites.

How the barcodes are tested

A barcode that does not scan is a broken product, so testing comes first. Code written for this site encodes UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-13, EAN-8, Code 128, Code 39 and ITF-14. It was written from the GS1 General Specifications and published symbol tables. Data Matrix, PDF417 and QR Code use bwip-js, a well-known open source library under the MIT license, bundled with the site.

These checks run before any page goes up, and a failure keeps every page back:

• Published examples, such as the check digit examples in the GS1 standard and the ITF-14 width worked out in it.
• A comparison against a second encoder over hundreds of pseudo-random numbers: bar for bar on UPC, EAN and Code 39, narrow and wide on ITF-14, and for Code 128 a check that the barcode is never longer.
• Real PNG files read back by ZXing-C++ and by the JavaScript port of ZXing. That port cannot read UPC-E, so UPC-E relies on ZXing-C++ here.

Before release, PNG, SVG and PDF files of every format are also read back by Apple's Vision framework.

What these tests do not cover

No barcode from these tools has yet been printed on paper and scanned by anyone. Nobody has printed one on your printer or scanned it with your scanner. These tests read sample files on a computer, and the printing is yours. Heat, ink spread, label stock and printer settings can all ruin a correct file. Print a test and scan it before you run a batch. For a retail launch, a print shop or GS1 member service can grade your printed barcode with a verifier.

Numbers and GS1

This site does not sell, issue or register barcode numbers, and it has no connection with GS1. Retail UPC and EAN numbers are licensed through GS1, and how to get a UPC code explains the route. A code made here is right for labels, internal stock, testing and mock-ups.

Reach the team

Corrections and questions go to hello@upcgenerator.net. The editorial policy says how the pages are made and tested, and that a person will read them over time rather than before launch.