Tool
Barcode label generator
Barcode and QR code labels on real label sheets: a numbered sequence such as SKU-0001 to SKU-0300, or a list you paste, as Code 128, QR, EAN-13 or UPC-A on Avery 5160-layout and A4 sheets. Each code is sized to its label, with its quiet zones and whole printer dots, and downloads as a vector PDF. Free; nothing you type leaves your browser.
SKU-0001 … SKU-0030
Custom layout: label size, margins, gaps
30 codes on 2 sheets of 21. Narrowest bar: 0.423 mm (5 dots at 300 dpi). Print at Actual size or 100%.
How to print barcode labels
- Choose the code: Code 128 for your own numbers, QR for phones and web addresses, EAN-13 or UPC-A for retail products with GS1 numbers.
- Make a sequence (prefix, first number, step, how many, digits) or paste a list, one code per line.
- Pick the label sheet you have. If some labels are already used, say how many and the codes start after them.
- Download the PDF, print one sheet on plain paper at 100% and hold it against a label sheet; then print on the labels.
- Scan a few codes before you label everything: a phone camera reads QR codes, and most phone barcode apps read Code 128 and EAN.
Why these codes scan
The bars are drawn as exact rectangles in the PDF, not as a picture, so they print as sharp as your printer can make them. Every narrowest bar is a whole number of printer dots, so equal bars print equal. The quiet zones each code needs — 10 bar widths for Code 128, 11 and 7 for EAN-13, 9 for UPC-A, 4 modules round a QR code — stay clear inside the label and its 1.5 mm safety margin. Code 128 switches between letters and pairs of digits to keep codes short (ISO/IEC 15417); EAN-13 and UPC-A keep the GS1 proportions, with guard bars, the check digit and the digits underneath; QR codes come from the open-source qrcode-generator library at the error correction level you choose. Each of these was checked by decoding the printed result with the ZBar barcode reader. For plain text labels, use the label sheet generator.
Keeps these settings in the link. Useful for moving from a phone to the computer with the printer on it.
Frequently asked questions
Which barcode should I use?
Code 128 for your own labels: stock numbers, asset tags, library and file labels. It takes letters, digits and punctuation, is read by every ordinary barcode scanner, and is compact for numbers because it packs two digits into one character. A QR code when a phone will read it, for a web address, or for more than a few dozen characters. EAN-13 (most of the world) or UPC-A (the US and Canada) only for products sold in shops, with numbers from GS1.
Can I make my own UPC or EAN numbers?
Not for products you sell through retailers. Shops look the number up in a shared database, so it has to be one GS1 issued to you: you license a company prefix from your country’s GS1 office and number your products under it. This tool draws a number correctly and computes its check digit, but it cannot make the number yours. For use inside one shop or warehouse, GS1 sets aside numbers starting with 2 (and UPC numbers starting with 2 or 4) that must never leave it; the tool’s sample sequences start there.
What is the check digit and do I type it?
The last digit of an EAN-13 or UPC-A is calculated from the others, so a scanner can tell a misread. Type 12 digits for an EAN-13 (11 for a UPC-A) and the tool adds it. Type all 13 (or 12) and the tool checks it and names the line if it is wrong. Code 128 and QR codes carry their own checks inside the symbol, so nothing is typed for them.
What is a quiet zone and why does it matter?
The blank margin either side of a barcode. A scanner finds the start and the end of the code by the change from that white space to the first bar, so text, a label edge or a printed line too close makes it fail. Code 128 needs at least 10 times the narrowest bar each side, EAN-13 11 on the left and 7 on the right, UPC-A 9 each side and a QR code four modules all round. The tool keeps them clear inside every label.
How small can the barcode be?
The tool makes each code as large as its label allows and shrinks it only to a floor: a narrowest bar or QR module of 0.25 mm (3 dots of a 300 dpi printer), and for EAN-13 and UPC-A the GS1 minimum of 80% of the nominal size (0.33 mm bars at 100%). A code that does not fit at that size is named and not drawn, so you can choose larger labels or shorter data rather than print codes that will not scan.
Why does the printer resolution matter?
A printer makes every bar out of whole dots. A bar 3.4 dots wide comes out 3 dots in one place and 4 in another, so bars that should be equal are not, and the code reads badly or not at all. The tool sizes every bar to a whole number of dots: 300 dpi covers most laser and inkjet printers (their 600 and 1200 dpi modes divide evenly), 203 dpi is the usual thermal label printer.
Do the labels line up with Avery 5160 and other sheets?
The sheets here are the label sheet generator’s layouts, to the inch for the US sheets they name. Print one page on plain paper first and hold it against a label sheet; if every label is off by the same amount, enter it under Printer offset. PrintReadyKit is not affiliated with Avery.
Is my data uploaded?
No. The codes are drawn in your browser and go only into the PDF or SVG you download. The link from “Continue on another device” carries the layout and the numbers of a sequence, but never a prefix, suffix, list or text you typed.