ISBN Book Barcodes
A book barcode is your ISBN turned into a scannable image for the back cover. Books have their own numbering system (an ISBN, or International Standard Book Number) rather than the EAN or UPC numbers used on general retail products, so a retail barcode package won’t work on a book.
We supply the book barcode images for an ISBN you already hold. The finished barcode is in EAN-13 format, the standard for books worldwide, and scans at every major bookseller and distributor.
Getting your book barcode: do you have an ISBN?
Yes — order your barcode images below. You’ll enter your ISBN at checkout, and we’ll generate the images and email them to you straight away.
No — you’ll need an ISBN before we can create your barcode. In Canada, Library and Archives Canada issues ISBNs free of charge. Apply for your ISBN here, then come back to us for the barcode.
Note: We do not issue ISBNs. Only your country’s national ISBN agency can do that. We provide the barcode image that encodes the number you’ve been given.
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ISBN Barcode Images
Instant delivery by email
If you purchase ISBN barcode images, you will receive:
– Your ISBN rendered as a scannable EAN-13 barcode
– Barcode images in 3 formats (PDF, PNG & SVG)
– Print-ready files at standard barcode size, suitable for dropping straight into your cover artwork
Please enter your 13-digit ISBN in the additional information section after you proceed to checkout. To order several at once, separate them with a comma or put each on a new line.
Examples: 978-1-2345-6789-0, 978-1-2345-6788-3
Quantity Price per image 1 $ 20.00 CAD 2 $ 17.00 CAD each 3 $ 14.00 CAD each 4 + $ 10.00 CAD each Add to cart
Download Sample ISBN Barcode Images (zip file)
Do I need a book barcode or a retail barcode?
The rule of thumb is simple: it depends on the product, not where you’re selling it.
Books — printed books, ebooks sold in retail channels, audiobooks. These need an ISBN, which is encoded as an EAN-13 barcode. Order from this page.
Magazines and periodicals — anything published on a repeating schedule needs an ISSN rather than an ISBN. See our magazine barcode page.
Printed music — sheet music and scores use an International Standard Music Number (ISMN). A 13-digit ISMN, such as 979-0-2600-0043-8, is converted to an EAN-13 barcode in exactly the same way as a book ISBN. Order the ISBN barcode images above and enter your ISMN in place of an ISBN.
Everything else — general retail products — needs an EAN or UPC number, which we supply as a complete package, including the number itself. See Retail Barcode Packages.
Using your book barcode
You will receive your barcode images by email in three files (PDF, PNG and SVG). Choose the format that suits your designer or printer, and place the image on your back cover before printing.
The images are supplied at the standard barcode size of about 38 mm x 25 mm. You can reduce this if space is tight. Don’t go below 80% of the standard size (roughly 30 mm x 20 mm), or scanners may struggle. See our barcode dimensions guide before resizing.
Place the barcode in the lower-right corner of the back cover, on a plain white or very light background, with clear space around it. Avoid printing it over artwork, and avoid red or light-coloured bars. Scanners read the contrast between the bars and the background, not the colour itself.
Your ISBN barcode encodes only the ISBN. Retailers and libraries look the title up against that number in their own systems, so no title or price information needs to be built into the barcode itself.
Adding a price code (optional)
An ISBN barcode can carry a second, smaller five-digit block alongside the main bars that encodes a recommended retail price. This format is called EAN-13+5.
Do you need one? For most Canadian trade books, no. Standard ISBN barcodes carry no price; retailers set their own, and most scanners ignore the price block entirely. Add one if a distributor or retailer specifically asks for it, if you’re selling into a market where it’s expected, or if you want the price visible on the cover as part of the barcode.
The trade-off is that the price is locked into your artwork. If you change the price, you need a new barcode and a new cover print run.
How the price is encoded. The first digit identifies the currency, and the remaining four give the price, up to 99.99:
6 = CAD
5 = USD
0 (or 1) = GBP
3 = AUD
4 = NZD
So a price of $26.95 CAD becomes 62695 — 6 for Canadian dollars, then 2695.
How to order one. Add the ISBN Barcode product to your cart as normal. At checkout, enter your ISBN in the additional information box, along with the price and currency you want encoded. For example:
ISBN 978-0-9739401-2-1
Please include a price code: CDN $26.95
That’s all we need. There’s no extra charge; a price-coded barcode costs the same as a standard one.
Price-coded barcodes are made by hand rather than generated automatically, so they arrive within 12–24 hours on business days, not instantly. If we don’t see a price in the additional information box, we’ll generate a standard ISBN barcode with no price.
Turnaround time
Standard ISBN barcode (EAN-13): created automatically and emailed to you as soon as your payment goes through.
ISBN barcode with price code (EAN-13+5): made manually by our team and emailed within 12–24 hours.
Need help?
Here are some common questions:
How many barcodes do I need? One per ISBN. Each edition and format gets its own ISBN. Hardback, paperback, large print and each ebook format are all separate, and each needs its own barcode. A straight reprint of the same edition retains the same ISBN and barcode.
What text is printed with the barcode? Your ISBN appears in hyphenated form above the bars, as ISBN 978-0-9739401-2-1, and the same 13 digits appear as plain numerals below them. That’s the standard layout, and retailers and libraries expect it.
Can I have my book title under the bars? No, and you don’t need it. The barcode block carries only the ISBN. Retailers pull the title, author, and format from their own database using that number, so printing the title there adds nothing, and altering the block risks scanning problems. Your title belongs elsewhere on the cover, where a reader will actually see it.
Does a price code cost extra? No. A price-coded barcode is the same price as a standard one. It’s made by hand rather than generated automatically, so it takes 12–24 hours on business days instead of arriving instantly.
Do I need a new barcode if I change the price? Only if your barcode includes a price code. A standard ISBN barcode carries no price information, so you can change the price as often as you like without touching the artwork.
Will these barcodes work worldwide? Yes. ISBN barcodes use the EAN-13 format, the international standard for books, and are read by booksellers, distributors, and libraries worldwide.
What if my ISBN is only 10 digits? Older ISBNs were 10 digits and need to be converted to 13 digits before they can be encoded. Get in touch, and we’ll convert it for you.
Can I get a barcode for an ebook? If your ebook has an ISBN and you need a barcode, yes. That said, most ebook retailers work from the ISBN alone and never need a printed barcode.
What about an author or publisher logo in the barcode? The barcode itself must stay clean and unaltered, but you can place your logo nearby on the cover. Don’t overlap it.
Don’t see what you’re looking for? Please review our answers to common questions.
ISBN Barcode Image