Make the barcode for the back cover of your book from its ISBN.
Old 10-digit ISBNs are converted to ISBN-13, the ISBN line is printed above the bars, and you can add the 5-digit price add-on.
Download a vector PDF or EPS for your cover designer, or a PNG at 300-1200 dpi. Want to double-check the ISBN first? Use the Check Digit Calculator.
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Still having trouble? Please contact us and we'll be happy to help!
Dates are YYMMDD. Fixed-length fields (01, 00, dates) need their exact number of digits - we check the GTIN and SSCC check digits for you.
Start with an AI in brackets, like (01)09501101530003(17)271231, and it becomes a GS1 Data Matrix - the one used on medicine and food. Anything else is stored as plain text.
Shoppers' phones open this link; tills read the GTIN, lot and dates from it. Point your own domain at a page for the product, or use id.gs1.org, which forwards to the brand's registered page.
Retail barcodes should keep their digits - cashiers type them in when a code will not scan. OCR-B is the classic barcode font many packaging printers and book publishers ask for - we draw it as outlines, so no file ever has a missing font.
One code per line - or a CSV with the columns content, name (file name) and label (text on a label sheet). Every barcode gets the current type, size and format. Pick PDF with the Labels page to print the whole list on label sheets.
Self-publishing on KDP or IngramSpark? KDP adds a barcode to paperback covers for free if you leave the space empty; IngramSpark and printers usually want it on your cover file - download the PDF or EPS and place it there. Have the barcode of a book and want the details? Scan it with the Barcode Scanner.
A book barcode is an EAN-13 that starts with 978 or 979, called Bookland.
An ISBN-13 goes into the barcode as it is. An old ISBN-10 gets 978 in front and a new check digit - 1-86197-271-7 becomes 978-1-86197-271-2. The ISBN line above the bars repeats the number for people.
| Part | Example | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Prefix | 978 | Bookland - books |
| Registration group | 1 | Language area or country (1 = English) |
| Publisher | 86197 | Given by the ISBN agency |
| Title | 271 | The edition |
| Check digit | 2 | Worked out from the rest |
The small barcode to the right holds the suggested price.
| Add-on | Means |
|---|---|
| 5xxxx | US dollars - 51299 is $12.99 |
| 6xxxx | Canadian dollars (some publishers) |
| 90000 | No suggested price |
| 90000-98999 | Internal use set by the publisher |
| 99991 | Complimentary copy |
US bookshops expect the add-on; elsewhere it is optional. Type it in the Add-on field and the scan check reads both parts.
100% is 37.29 x 25.93 mm without the add-on and about 55 x 26 mm with it. 80-92% is common on paperbacks.
Put it on a white or very light box on the back cover, usually bottom right, away from the spine edge.
Black bars print best. Avoid red, orange and gold bars - till scanners use red light and cannot see them.
Send PDF or EPS to your printer; both stay sharp at any size. Need a picture for a web store? PNG at 600 dpi.
Getting your cover ready as a PDF? Join the front, spine and back with Image to PDF.
Yes - free, no sign-up and no watermark, for as many books as you like. The ISBN itself comes from your national ISBN agency (Bowker in the US, Nielsen in the UK and Ireland, and so on).
Yes. Barcodes always use ISBN-13, so we put 978 in front and work out the new check digit for you. The ISBN line shows the ISBN-13.
The price add-on (EAN-5). It starts with 5 for US dollars (51299 = $12.99), or is 90000 when there is no suggested price. It is optional outside the US.
The standard 100% EAN-13 is 37.29 x 25.93 mm; with the add-on it is about 55 mm wide. Most books print it at 80-100%. Never squash the height or cut the white margins.
For KDP paperbacks, Amazon can add the barcode for you when you leave the space blank on your cover. Your own barcode is needed when you print elsewhere (IngramSpark, local printers) or want a price add-on.
PDF or EPS - both are vectors made at the exact size in millimetres, and EPS opens in Illustrator, InDesign and Affinity. To look inside an EPS without those, use the EPS File Viewer.
Type it here - a wrong check digit shows an error straight away. The Check Digit Calculator checks ISBN-10 and ISBN-13 numbers in bulk and shows each step.
Making your barcodes...
Drawn and scan-tested in your browser
