How to make a barcode for your product: GS1 numbers, your own codes and printing

You make a good product, a pickle, a soap, a packet of masala, and a shop or an online store asks: “Does it have a barcode?” Or you simply want your own stock to beep at the counter. Either way, the question is the same: how do you make a barcode, and is a free one good enough?

This guide answers it in order: which kind of barcode you need, where the number comes from, how the check digit works, and how to print labels that scan. The barcode maker beside the guide follows along, so you can try every example and then make your own.

How do I make a barcode for my product?

A barcode has two parts: the number and the drawing of that number as bars. The drawing is the easy part. Any good barcode maker, including the one beside this guide, draws it for free in a second.

The number is what matters, and it depends on who will scan it:

Who scans it	Barcode to use	Where the number comes from
Only your own shop or store room	Code 128	You make it up
Supermarkets, other shops, online marketplaces	EAN-13 (UPC-A in the USA and Canada)	Your country’s GS1 office
Cartons and outer cases	ITF-14	Built from your GS1 number

A free barcode maker gives you a correct drawing. Only GS1 gives you a number other shops will accept.

Your own codes: Code 128 for stock in your shop

If the item never leaves your shop, you do not need GS1 at all. Give each item your own code and print it as Code 128.

Code 128 holds English letters, numbers and keyboard signs, so the code can say what the item is. SOAP-NEEM-100G is easier to read on a shelf than a string of digits, and nobody will mistake it for a real product barcode. Almost every barcode scanner reads Code 128.

Three tips for your own codes:

1. Keep a list. One code per item and pack size, written in your billing software or a simple sheet.
2. Never reuse a code for a different item, even after the old one stops selling.
3. Do not make up 13-digit numbers that look like EAN-13. It may belong to another company’s product.

Our guide to barcode billing for a small shop covers the scanner and label printer side of this.

How to get a barcode for your product in India, and in other countries

To sell through supermarkets, chains or marketplaces, your product needs a GTIN, the number inside an EAN-13 or UPC-A. These numbers come from GS1, a not-for-profit body with an office in each country.

The first digits show which office issued the number, not where the product was made. India’s numbers begin with 890 and only GS1 India issues them. The UK’s begin with 500 to 509. If you sell mainly in another country, apply to the GS1 office there.

In India, GS1 India asks for your PAN, proof of your business (such as the GST certificate for a proprietor), a request letter, a cancelled cheque and turnover proof (not needed for a new company). The fee depends on your turnover, the number of barcodes and the period, and you choose a plan of 100, 1,000, 10,000 or 1,00,000 numbers. That choice cannot be changed later, so count your products and pack sizes first. GS1 India says allotment usually takes 7 to 10 working days.

The 80% support is a Ministry of MSME scheme, up to ₹50,650, for the 100 and 1,000 barcode plans.

Do not buy cheap barcode numbers from resellers. Amazon, for example, checks numbers against the GS1 database, and a number registered to another company can get your listing removed.

EAN-13 and the check digit, worked out

An EAN-13 has 13 digits. The first 12 come from your GS1 plan: your company number, then a number you give each product. The 13th is the check digit, worked out from the other 12, so a scanner can tell when it has misread the bars.

The sum is simple. From the right, multiply the 12 digits by 3 and 1 in turn, add them up, and the check digit is what brings the total to the next ten. For the example number 200123456789, the total is 97, so the check digit is 3 and the full code is 2001234567893. GS1 keeps numbers starting 20 to 29 for use inside one shop, so this example is no real product.

You do not have to do this by hand. Type 12 digits in the barcode generator and it adds the check digit; type 13 and it tells you if the last one is wrong. A wrong check digit is the most common reason a home-made EAN-13 will not scan.

Barcode size, label and print quality

Most “my barcode won’t scan” problems come from printing, not the number.

• Size. The normal EAN-13 is about 37.29 × 25.93 mm. It may be printed from 80% to 200% of that, which means each thin bar is between 0.264 mm and 0.66 mm wide. Smaller than that and many scanners fail.
• Height. Do not cut the bars short to fit a small pack. Make the label bigger instead.
• White margins. Keep the quiet zones, the blank space at both ends, free of text, borders and the label’s edge.
• Colour. Dark bars on a white or light background. Black on white is safest; red bars often fail.
• Printing. Print at 100% or actual size, never “fit to page”.

Take Meena, who makes neem and turmeric soaps at home in Kallakurichi and sells 100 g bars at her own stall. For the stall she prints Code 128 labels, 50 × 30 mm, with the name and price. When a supermarket in Villupuram agrees to stock her soaps, she applies to GS1 India for a 100-number plan, puts her new EAN-13 on the wrapper at normal size, and keeps the Code 128 labels only for loose items at her stall.

How to test a barcode before printing many

Before you print a thousand labels, print one page and test it the way a shop will.

1. Scan with a real scanner if you can: yours, or a friendly shopkeeper’s. A scanner is stricter than a phone.
2. Scan with a phone. Many phone camera and barcode scanner apps read EAN-13 and Code 128. Check that the number shown is exactly yours.
3. Scan the actual pack under shop lighting, curved surfaces included, and check the printed size with a ruler.

If you also take UPI payments at the stall, our guide on making a UPI QR code for your shop uses the same test-before-you-print habit.

Questions

How do I make a barcode for my product for free?

Type your number or code into a free barcode maker, pick the type, and download it as PNG or SVG. For your own shop, a Code 128 with your own code is enough and costs nothing. To sell in other shops, the drawing is still free but the EAN-13 number must come from GS1.

How do I get a barcode for my product in India?

Apply to GS1 India with your PAN, business proof, a request letter, a cancelled cheque and turnover proof, and choose how many numbers you need. The fee depends on turnover, the number of barcodes and the period. Indian numbers start with 890.

Is a barcode free?

The barcode drawing is free, and so are your own in-shop codes. A product number that supermarkets and marketplaces accept is licensed from GS1 for a yearly fee.

What is an EAN-13 barcode?

It is the 13-digit product barcode used by shops in most of the world. The first digits identify the GS1 office and your company, the next ones your product, and the last digit is a check digit worked out from the rest.

Can I make my own barcode numbers?

Yes, for use inside your own shop. Use Code 128 with letters so they never look like real product numbers. Do not invent 13-digit EAN numbers for products you sell to other shops.

How do I print barcode stickers?

Design the label at its real size, print at 100% (never “fit to page”), and use black bars on white. Print one page on plain paper first, hold it against the sticker sheet, and scan a label before printing the rest.