Barcode Generator — EAN, UPC & Code 128

A product label, a warehouse shelf tag, a shipping carton and an event badge each expect a different kind of barcode. Pick the type, type the value, and the bars redraw as you type, ready to download as a PNG or an SVG that stays sharp at any print size.

It opens on the Code 128 shipping reference SHIP-2026-004718. Load sample steps through a valid example of every type, so you can see what each one looks like before typing your own.

How to Use the Barcode Types

1. Choose a type. Code 128 takes letters, digits and keyboard symbols; EAN-13, UPC-A and EAN-8 are for retail products; Code 39 suits badges and older systems; ITF-14 goes on outer shipping cartons.
2. Type the value. Leave the check digit off an EAN, UPC or ITF-14 number and it is worked out for you.
3. Open Size and colours to change the bar width, height, quiet zone, text size and colours.
4. Download a PNG at 1×, 2× or 4×, download an SVG, or copy the SVG code into a label template.

Each type remembers its own last value, so switching from EAN-13 to Code 39 and back does not wipe the number you typed. Long runs of digits in Code 128 are packed two to a symbol (code set C), which is why SHIP-2026-004718 comes out shorter than its 16 characters suggest.

The Check Digit Method

EAN, UPC and ITF-14 end in a check digit that lets a scanner catch a misread. Starting from the right-most digit, multiply the digits alternately by 3 and 1, add them up, and take what is needed to reach the next multiple of ten. For 400638133393 the weighted sum is 89, so the check digit is 1 and the full EAN-13 is 4006381333931. Type all 13 digits with a wrong last one and the tool says so, for example “The check digit should be 1, not 2. Leave it off and it is added for you.” Code 128 always carries its own mod-103 check symbol; Code 39’s mod-43 check character is optional and off by default.

Printing Size: Bar Width and Quiet Zone

An EAN-13 is 95 modules wide plus a quiet zone of blank space on each side; this tool leaves 10 modules by default, and cutting it close is the most common reason a printed code will not scan. At full retail size one module is 0.33 mm, which is 4 dots on a 300 dpi label printer, so for print use the SVG or the 4× PNG rather than a small screen image. Keep dark bars on a light background: the tool warns when the colours are reversed or too close in brightness for a scanner to separate.