Can I generate an EAN or UPC barcode image for free?
Yes, you can generate the symbol image locally, but an image does not assign or register a retail product number. Enter a valid number allocated for your use, choose EAN-13 or UPC-A, and Dhrub Free Tools verifies an existing check digit or calculates the missing final digit. Businesses that need globally unique retail identification should obtain and manage the relevant GS1 key through the authorised GS1 route.
How to use the tool
Choose the barcode format
Select Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A, ITF or Code 39 according to the receiving system.
Enter and validate the data
Use the permitted characters or digits; the tool validates retail length and check digits before drawing.
Export and test the real label
Save scalable SVG or a white-background PNG, print at the intended size and scan it with the actual equipment.
At a glance
- Generation engine
- JsBarcode
- Available formats
- Code 128, EAN-13, UPC-A, ITF and Code 39
- Retail check digit
- Validated or calculated for EAN-13 and UPC-A
- Exports
- SVG and PNG
- Number registration
- Not included
Choose a symbology that the destination expects
Code 128 is dense and useful for many internal labels; this implementation accepts printable ASCII for predictable output. Code 39 supports uppercase letters, digits and a smaller symbol set. ITF encodes digit pairs and therefore requires an even number of digits. EAN-13 and UPC-A are fixed-length retail symbols whose final digit checks the number’s composition.
A scanner must be configured to recognise the chosen symbology, and a database must know what the decoded value means. Generating bars does not create the stock record, URL, price, product ownership or globally unique identifier behind them.
- Use the format required by the warehouse, retailer, library or application.
- Do not invent an EAN or UPC for commercial distribution when an assigned GS1 number is required.
- Keep human-readable text visible when operators may need to type the value.
- Re-generate after any change; one character produces a different symbol.
A valid preview is not proof of print quality
SVG preserves vector bars and is usually the better master for layout or professional printing. PNG is a raster copy and can blur when resized by a document editor or printer. Bar width, height, quiet zones, contrast, substrate, ink spread, print resolution and scanner distance all affect whether the physical symbol works.
The screen preview checks data and drawing, not ISO print quality or GS1 application rules. Use the final material, printer and intended scan environment for testing. Supply-chain or regulated deployments may require a verifier and a formal barcode quality report.
Important limitations
- Creating the image does not issue, register, license or authorise the encoded number.
- The tool does not provide GS1 Application Identifiers, ITF-14 packaging logic, GS1-128 parsing or barcode verification reports.
- Screen appearance cannot certify quiet zones, X-dimension, contrast, print growth or scan grade on a physical label.
- The PNG has finite pixels; avoid arbitrary resizing and re-compression after download.
- Only the listed character subsets and symbologies are supported in this release.
Questions people ask
Will the tool give my product a unique UPC or EAN?
No. It draws a supplied value and can calculate its final check digit. Obtain an assigned identifier through the appropriate standards route when your trading partners require one.
Why was a final digit added?
EAN-13 and UPC-A use a check digit derived from the preceding digits. When you enter only the body, the tool calculates and appends it.
Should I download SVG or PNG?
Use SVG as a scalable master when your label software accepts it. Use PNG for broad compatibility, but keep enough pixels at the final print size.
Why does a barcode scan on screen but not on paper?
Printing can change bar widths, contrast, quiet zones and sharpness. Test the final physical label with the intended scanner and verify high-risk deployments.
Primary and project sources
- JsBarcode project — JsBarcode maintainersPrimary documentation for supported browser barcode formats and SVG generation.
- GS1 check digit calculator — GS1Official explanation and calculator for the final digit of fixed-length GS1 identification keys.
- EAN and UPC barcodes — GS1Official overview of the EAN/UPC family, standards and verification guidance.
- GS1 barcode verification guidelines — GS1Official implementation guidance for symbol quality and encoded-data verification.
- Scalable Vector Graphics 2 — W3CPrimary specification for the vector export format.