Barcode Types Explained: Code 128, EAN-13 and UPC

Barcodes look alike — black bars on white — but there are many types, each designed for a different job. Choose the wrong one and your products won’t be accepted by retailers, or your warehouse scanners won’t read your labels. Here’s a clear guide.

The most common barcode types

EAN-13: the retail standard

When you buy packaged goods in an Indian shop, the barcode is almost always EAN-13. Its 13 digits contain:

1. GS1 prefix — identifies the country of the issuing GS1 organisation (890 for India).
2. Company number — assigned to the brand owner.
3. Product number — chosen by the company for each product variant.
4. Check digit — the final digit, calculated from the other twelve.

How the check digit works

Multiply digits in odd positions by 1 and even positions by 3, add them up, and find the number that brings the total to the next multiple of 10.

If one digit is mistyped or misread, the check digit usually won’t match, and the scanner rejects the code instead of recording the wrong product.

Do you need official GS1 numbers?

If you sell through retail stores, supermarkets or major marketplaces — yes. Retailers rely on every EAN being unique worldwide. In India, these numbers are licensed through GS1 India, which assigns you a company prefix and lets you create numbers for your products.

If the barcode is only for your own use — tracking stock, tagging assets, labelling shipments — you don’t need GS1. Use Code 128, which can hold your own SKU like TS-BLU-M-042.

Code 128: the all-rounder

Code 128 can encode letters, numbers and symbols compactly, which is why it’s used on courier labels, warehouse bins and internal stock tags. If you’re not sure what to use for internal purposes, Code 128 is almost always the right choice.

Code 39 and ITF-14

• Code 39 is older and less compact, but still common in manufacturing, automotive parts and ID cards. It supports uppercase letters, digits and a few symbols.
• ITF-14 goes on outer shipping cartons containing multiple retail units, and is designed to print well on corrugated cardboard.

Printing barcodes that scan every time

• Contrast: black bars on a white background. Avoid red bars — many scanners use red light and can’t see them.
• Quiet zone: leave blank space on both sides of the barcode.
• Size: don’t shrink retail barcodes too much; follow GS1 size guidance for retail products.
• Resolution: use vector formats (SVG) for label printing so bars stay perfectly sharp.
• Test with a scanner or phone app before printing a batch.

Generate barcodes free

Our Barcode Generator creates Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A, EAN-8, Code 39 and ITF-14 barcodes, adds check digits automatically, and lets you download PNG or SVG files for printing.

Written by the Toolsopedia team. Spotted an error? Tell us and we’ll fix it.