ITF-14 Generator
14-digit shipping container symbol with mandatory bearer bars, printed on outer cartons.
How ITF-14 is structured
ITF-14 is Interleaved 2 of 5 fixed at 14 digits — a GTIN-14. The first digit is a logistics indicator: 0 for a case of identical retail units, 1 to 8 for assorted or internal configurations, 9 for variable-measure goods. It sits in front of the 13-digit GTIN it describes and the whole symbol is framed by a bearer bar, printed top and bottom, that protects the narrow bars on a corrugated surface.
ITF-14 check digit
The 14th digit is the standard GTIN check digit: mod-10, weighting the first 13 digits alternately 3 and 1 from the right and completing to the next multiple of ten. Enter 13 digits and the generator appends the check digit; enter 14 and it is validated rather than recomputed.
ITF-14 compared with ITF
Plain ITF is the same symbology with free length and no GS1 semantics. GS1-128 carries the same GTIN under application identifier (01) but adds room for dates, batch and weight on the same label, which is why a typical case label pairs an ITF-14 with a GS1-128 beneath it. Compare the ITF generator page for the same breakdown of structure, check digit and use cases.
Common ITF-14 problems
The indicator digit was added twice
A retail GTIN-13 already ends in a check digit; prepending an indicator digit and then recomputing produces a 14-digit string whose last digit no longer matches. Build the GTIN-14 from the base GTIN plus one indicator digit, then let the check digit be computed once.
The bearer bar was dropped to save ink
The bearer bar is part of the symbol. Without it, a partially read row on rough board looks like a valid shorter string, and the case number scans as garbage or not at all. Keep the bar and its specified thickness.
The symbol is presented at a retail till
ITF-14 is a case symbol, not a point-of-sale code. Scanning it at a checkout returns the GTIN-14, which no item file holds. Scan the retail unit inside the case instead, or record the GTIN-14 in the goods-in system.
Where ITF-14 is used
- Shipping container labels on outer cases and multipacks
- Pallet and transport unit identification with a GTIN-14
- Variable-measure cases using indicator digit 9
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.