Below are the questions our Irish customers ask most often about barcode numbers. If you can’t find what you need, get in touch, and someone will reply within one business day.
Barcode number basics
What is a barcode?
A barcode is an image that holds a small amount of information a scanner or phone app can read instantly. Barcodes come in many shapes and formats, but on retail products the barcode is almost always a 13- or 12-digit number drawn as bars. The till scans it, and the shop’s system brings up the price.
How does the retail barcode system work?
George Laurer created the system in the 1970s while working at IBM. It gives every product its own number, so no two products anywhere share one. Almost every retailer worldwide now runs on it. The system covers both EAN-13 and UPC-A numbers. How barcodes work.
What information is stored in my barcode?
Only the number itself. Your barcode holds no company name, product name or price. Instead, the retailer links your product details to that number in their system when they first take your product in. After that, scanning the barcode brings up whatever they entered.
Who invented the barcode?
George Laurer invented the 12-digit UPC system at IBM. He later supported reseller barcode numbers like ours because he disagreed with GS1 restricting market access through high fees.
Do I need a barcode for my product?
Do I need a barcode to sell in Irish shops?
Usually, yes. Most retailers find products far easier to handle when they arrive with a barcode already on them, and many insist on it. A barcode is what opens the door to getting stocked.
There are exceptions. If you only sell through your own shop or your own website, you don’t need one at all. And if you only want to track your own stock internally, cheaper non-retail barcodes will do the job, because internal codes don’t need to be part of the global system.
How many barcode numbers should I buy?
One for each product and each variation. Shops use barcodes for two jobs: looking up the price at the till, and tracking stock so they know when to reorder.
If a retailer only does the first, you could reuse one number across two variations, such as two colours of the same item. But if they also track stock, every variation needs its own number. Since you rarely know in advance which system a buyer uses, a separate number per variation is the safer choice. Retailers also prefer products that are simple to manage, and some will pass on a line if staff have to count sizes by hand.
What’s the difference between EAN-13 and UPC-A?
Both work in shops worldwide. The 13-digit EAN-13 is the standard in Ireland, the UK, Europe and most of the world. The 12-digit UPC-A is most common in the US and Canada.
The two are closely related. Add a zero to the front of a UPC-A number, and you have an EAN-13, and the printed bars look identical. Scanners read both without trouble. As a rule, use EAN-13 for Ireland and Europe, and UPC-A if your product sells mainly in North America. Our EAN-13 vs UPC-A page has more detail. We supply both versions with every barcode, so you’re covered either way at no extra cost.
Are your barcodes suitable for every retail product?
Nearly. The exceptions are books, which use ISBN barcodes, and magazines, which use ISSN barcodes. Everything else uses EAN-13 or UPC-A, which you can buy here.
Where our barcode numbers are accepted
Which Irish retailers require GS1 barcodes?
As far as we know, none. Every retailer in Ireland that we know accepts our numbers.
If you also sell into the UK, two chains have extra requirements, and we can supply both: Asda asks for a verification report, and Tesco asks for a Global Location Number (GLN).
Do your barcodes work in every shop?
They work in the large majority of shops worldwide, but a handful of major retailers abroad insist on GS1. Some retailers accept our numbers but also ask for a verification report, which we can arrange. Our barcode acceptance page lists the position country by country and is kept up to date.
Do you guarantee every shop will accept your barcode numbers?
No, and no barcode company honestly can. Retailers set their own requirements; those requirements change without notice, and they don’t always make much sense. We have over 3 million numbers in circulation worldwide, and the exceptions on our acceptance page are the only ones we’ve heard of. If a specific retailer matters to you, ask them before you buy, or ask us and we’ll tell you what we know.
Will my barcode numbers work outside Ireland?
Yes. EAN-13 works worldwide, and UPC-A works throughout North America. Our customers sell in more than 120 countries, and our acceptance page lists the restrictions we know of in each one.
Buying barcodes from us
How do I order?
Choose a package on our retail barcodes page and check out with a credit card or PayPal. We’ll email your numbers and image files as soon as payment is complete, which for retail barcodes is usually within minutes. If you’d prefer to pay by bank transfer, we’ll email the files once the payment has cleared.
Why should I buy from you?
- One payment, with no renewals, joining fee or annual fee
- Instant email delivery for retail barcodes, and everything else within 12–24 hours
- High-resolution images in PNG, SVG and PDF formats
- No membership forms to fill in
- A guarantee certificate proving you own the number
- Accredited verification reports arranged on request
- Free registration on the International Barcodes Database and IBN Verified
Our Why Buy from Us page goes into more detail.
Will my barcode number be unique?
Yes. We check every number we sell against our database first, so it has never been sold or used before. Our numbers originate from the Uniform Code Council (now GS1 US), and we have a written guarantee from our source that they are for resale only. We also check each number for misuse online before it goes out. Finally, you receive a guarantee certificate you can show a retailer as proof of ownership.
Will my barcode number ever expire?
No. Once you buy it, the number is yours for life, and you can use it for as long as you like. There are no annual fees, because these numbers sit outside GS1’s control.
How can barcodes be sold for a one-off cost?
It comes down to a change in the 1990s. Back then, GS1 licensed its 13-digit numbers to members for ongoing fees, while a separate American body, the Uniform Code Council (UCC), sold 12-digit numbers outright with no recurring charge. When the UCC merged into GS1 US in the late 1990s, it began charging annual fees to everyone, including members who had already paid once.
Those members took GS1 to court and won in the early 2000s. The outcome confirmed that numbers originally issued by the UCC sit outside GS1’s control, so no licence fees apply. Those are the numbers resellers like us supply. They have never been used on a retail product, and they remain part of the same global system.
Will my numbers come with a company prefix?
Not if you buy a single number, because no barcode company can supply a prefix for a single barcode. Buy a block of 10, 100, or 1,000, and your numbers will include a unique company prefix.
Using your barcode
What do I do once I receive it?
Add the image to your packaging artwork, or print it onto sticky labels. You can resize it first, as long as you stay within the permitted dimensions. After that, when a retailer takes your product in, they scan the barcode once and enter your product details. From then on, every scan brings up that information.
How big should it be?
The standard size is 37.3 × 25.9mm. You can shrink it to 80% or enlarge it to 200% and still stay within the specification. Retailers vary in how strict they are, but if you need a verification report, stay within the standard range, because anything outside it will fail. It’s also worth doing a test scan before you send artwork to print. Our barcode dimensions page has the full specification.
Can I print on a coloured background?
Often, yes, depending on the colours. Scanners need enough contrast between the bars and the background, and some combinations don’t provide it. As a rule, use dark bars on a light background, and avoid red, orange or yellow bars.
What country code will my number start with?
Ours begin with 06 or 07, which means the number itself was issued in the United States. That says nothing about where your product is made. A country code shows where the barcode number came from, never where the goods were made, and products from any country can carry a number from any other. Our country code page explains this further.
Will my barcode be registered in an official database?
No official national or international barcode database exists, and registration isn’t compulsory anywhere. We offer free registration on the International Barcodes Database, which is optional and has a few benefits. Your barcode works with or without it. You decide whether to keep each number tied to a single product.
Books, magazines and other formats
What do books need?
Books use ISBN barcodes. Irish publishers get their ISBNs from the Nielsen ISBN Agency for the UK and Ireland, and our book barcode page explains the rest.
What do magazines need?
Magazines use ISSN barcodes. You apply for an ISSN first, and once you have it, we create the barcode. Our magazine barcode page explains how.
What is a Global Location Number?
A GLN is a globally unique number that some retailers use to identify a supplier’s business or location rather than a product. For example, Tesco asks UK suppliers for one. We can supply GLNs if a retailer asks you for one.
Still have a question?
We’re a small team, and we answer emails Monday to Friday. Send us your question, and someone will reply within one business day.
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