EAN-13 Generator
Worldwide retail product code: 12 digits plus a check digit, printed on virtually every consumer package.
How EAN-13 is structured
EAN-13 prints 13 digits in a 95-module symbol: a left guard of three modules, six digits, a centre guard, six digits and a right guard. The first digit is not drawn as its own bar pattern — it selects which of the ten odd/even parity patterns the six left-hand digits use, and a reader recovers it from that pattern. Nominal size is 37.29 by 25.93 mm at 100% magnification, printable from 80% to 200%, with quiet zones of 11 modules on the left and 7 on the right.
EAN-13 check digit
The 13th digit is a mod-10 check digit. Working from the right of the 12 data digits, multiply each digit alternately by 3 and by 1, sum the results, and the check digit is the amount needed to reach the next multiple of ten. Enter 12 digits and the generator appends the check digit; enter all 13 and it is validated rather than recalculated.
EAN-13 compared with UPC-A
UPC-A is the same symbol with a leading zero fixed in front of a 12-digit number — identical geometry, identical check digit, which is why every EAN-13 reader reads UPC-A. Where the package is too small for 95 modules, EAN-8 drops to 67 modules with a separately assigned short number. Compare the UPC-A generator page for the same breakdown of structure, check digit and use cases.
Common EAN-13 problems
The check digit does not match the data
This is the single most common EAN-13 failure: a code copied from a specification sheet with a digit typed by hand. Let the generator compute the check digit from 12 digits instead of pasting 13, and verify the printed result against the GS1-issued number.
A leading zero disappears in a spreadsheet
A numeric-formatted cell drops the zero and turns a valid 13-digit code into a 12-digit number with a wrong check digit. Format the column as text before importing, and check the digit count in the preview panel.
It scans on the bench but not at the checkout
Retail scanners have a minimum X-dimension and a fixed quiet-zone requirement. Print at 80% magnification or larger, keep the guard bars intact right to their ends, and do not let a dark border or a fold line run through the symbol.
Where EAN-13 is used
- Retail point-of-sale codes for consumer packaged goods
- ISBN-13 on book covers, with an EAN-5 price add-on to the right
- GTIN-13 payloads carried inside GS1-128 logistics labels
Not sure this is the right symbology? The barcode format guide groups every supported 1D and 2D format by industry with its character set and limits.