EAN-13 generator

How the first digit hides in the bars

The right-hand six digits always use one digit set, called R. The left-hand six each use one of two sets, L or G, and the order of those choices spells out the first digit. A scanner works out the order, and from it the digit that was never drawn.

How the first digit sets the left-hand digit patterns

First digit	Left-hand digit sets
0	L L L L L L
1	L L G L G G
2	L L G G L G
3	L L G G G L
4	L G L L G G
5	L G G L L G
6	L G G G L L
7	L G L G L G
8	L G L G G L
9	L G G L G L

Take the published number 4006381333931. The leading 4 gives the pattern L G L L G G. So the 0 after it is drawn in set L, the next 0 in set G, and so on. The first row of the table is why a UPC reads as an EAN. A leading zero means all six left-hand digits use set L, which is exactly how a UPC-A draws them.

Making an EAN barcode

Type 12 digits and the check digit appears, or type all 13 and a wrong last digit gets flagged with the correct one. Download SVG or PDF for packaging artwork, and PNG at your printer's resolution for labels. The preview hatches the clear space, which is wider on the left because the first digit prints there.

What a GS1 prefix tells you

The first three digits name the GS1 office that issued the number, or a special range. A few you will meet often:

GS1 prefix ranges and the office or use behind each

Prefix	Meaning
001 to 019, 030 to 039, 060 to 139	GS1 US
040 to 049	Use inside one company
050 to 059	Held back by GS1 US
200 to 299	Local schemes, such as store-packed food sold by weight
400 to 440	GS1 Germany
500 to 509	GS1 UK
690 to 699	GS1 China
952	Demonstrations and examples
977	Magazines and journals, with an ISSN
978 to 979	Books, with an ISBN
980 to 983, 990 to 999	Refund receipts and coupons

The prefix reader covers the whole GS1 list as you type. Remember what it can and cannot tell you: a number starting 400 was licensed through GS1 Germany, and the goods could have been made anywhere.

EAN-13 sizes

Sizes match the UPC table, because the symbol is the same width: 113 modules with its clear space. At 100 percent that is 37.29 mm wide, with bars 22.85 mm tall. GS1 allows 80 percent, a 0.264 mm narrow bar, up to 200 percent, a 0.66 mm narrow bar. The bars should stay at the height shown, and shortening them is a last resort for packs with no room.

Worked example from GS1

GS1 uses 629104150021 to show the sum. Multiplying by 1 and 3 in turn gives 6 + 6 + 9 + 3 + 0 + 12 + 1 + 15 + 0 + 0 + 2 + 3 = 57. The next ten is 60, so the check digit is 3 and the full number is 6291041500213. You can run any number through the same steps with the check digit calculator.

When EAN-13 is not the right barcode

In the US and Canada, most packaged goods carry a UPC-A barcode. Very small packs may fit EAN-8, which is one of the formats in the barcode generator. Shipping cartons usually need the sturdier ITF-14, and that symbol can carry your EAN's number with a pack-size digit added.

Books, and the number inside

An ISBN is already an EAN-13 number, beginning 978 or 979. The ISBN barcode guide explains the small price add-on printed beside it on a book cover. Whatever its length, the number inside an EAN or UPC is a GTIN. How an EAN's digits relate to a UPC's and to the longer code on a carton is in the GTIN guide.