EAN-2 Generator

2-digit add-on barcode used on newspapers and magazines to carry the issue number.

How EAN-2 is structured

EAN-2 is the shortest retail symbol in use: two digits, drawn as an add-on to the right of an EAN-13 with its own guard bars and a separator between the digits. On a weekly magazine the two digits are conventionally the issue number — 05 for the fifth week — and on a newspaper the same field can carry a weekday or edition code agreed with the distributor.

EAN-2 check digit

There is no printed check digit. Which of the two digits is drawn with odd parity and which with even is selected by the value of the number modulo 4, so the bar pattern itself carries the redundancy. That is enough for a reader to catch a single mis-decoded digit without spending width on an extra character.

EAN-2 compared with EAN-13

EAN-5 is the wider sibling and carries a price with a currency indicator; EAN-2 carries only an issue number and no currency. Both are add-ons that ride along with an EAN-13, and both are ignored by readers that have not been configured to read supplements. Compare the EAN-13 generator page for the same breakdown of structure, check digit and use cases.

Common EAN-2 problems

The add-on is generated without a main symbol

An EAN-2 on its own is not a valid retail symbol and most readers will not report it. Generate it alongside the EAN-13 it belongs to, with the correct gap, so the two are printed as one unit.

Issue numbers are not agreed with the distributor

The two digits mean nothing on their own. Agree the numbering with the distributor — week of year, edition or weekday — before the first print run, because retailers key their returns and display logic to that convention.

The supplement is not scanned

Many readers are shipped with supplement reading off for throughput reasons. If the issue number must be captured, turn on add-on and supplement reading in the scanner profile, then test on a copy of the printed label.

Where EAN-2 is used

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.