Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the questions our Canadian customers ask most often about barcode numbers and everything else. If you can’t find what you need, get in touch, and someone will reply within one business day.
Barcode basics
What is a barcode?
A barcode is an image that contains a small amount of information that a scanner or a phone app can read in an instant. Barcodes come in many shapes and formats. On retail products, though, the barcode is almost always a
12- or 13-digit number encoded as an image. The checkout scans it, and the store’s system pulls 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 the same one. Almost every retailer in the world now runs on it. The system covers both UPC-A numbers and the wider EAN-13 range.
What information is stored in my barcode?
Only the number itself. Your barcode holds no company name, no product name and no price. Instead, the retailer associates your product details with that number in their system when they first take your product in. After that,
scanning the barcode pulls up whatever they entered.
Who invented the barcode?
George Laurer invented the 12-digit UPC-A system at IBM. He also supported reseller barcode numbers like ours because he disagreed with GS1’s restriction of market access through high fees.
Do I need a barcode for my product?
Do I need a barcode number to sell in Canadian stores?
Usually, yes. Most retailers find products far easier to handle when they arrive with a barcode already on them, and many now insist on it. So 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 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?
Buy one number for each product and each product variation. Stores use barcodes for two jobs: looking up prices at checkout and tracking how much stock is left 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. However, if they also track stock, every variation needs its own number. Since you rarely know in advance which system a buyer runs, 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 is the difference between UPC-A and EAN-13?
Both work in retail stores worldwide. The 12-digit UPC-A format is the most common in the United States and Canada, while the 13-digit EAN-13 is standard almost everywhere else.
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, choose UPC-A if your product sells mainly in North America, and EAN-13 if it sells elsewhere. Our UPC-A versus EAN-13 page covers this in more detail. We supply both versions in every barcode package, 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. Everything else uses UPC-A or EAN-13; you can buy them here.
Where our barcode numbers are accepted
Which Canadian retailers require GS1 barcodes?
A small number of large chains require their suppliers to hold GS1 Canada membership, so our numbers won’t work with them. In Canada, that means Costco, Walmart and Home Depot, along with some EDI-based supply systems that check for a GS1 company prefix before accepting a purchase order. Every other Canadian retailer we know of accepts our numbers without issue.
Do your barcodes work in every store?
They work in the large majority of stores worldwide, but a handful of major retailers 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 stays up to date.
Do you guarantee every store 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. What we can say is that we have over 3 million numbers in circulation worldwide, and the exceptions above are the only ones we have 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 Canada?
Yes. EAN-13 works worldwide, and UPC-A works throughout North America. Our customers currently sell in more than 160 countries, and our acceptance page lists the restrictions we’re aware of in each one.
Buying barcodes from us
How do I order?
Choose a package from our retail barcode packages page and check out with a credit card or PayPal. We’ll email your numbers and image files as soon as the payment is complete, which for retail barcodes is usually within minutes. If you’d prefer to pay by bank transfer, the files will be emailed once the payment is cleared.
Why should I buy from you?
- One payment, with no renewals, joining fee or annual fee
- Instant email delivery on retail barcodes, and everything else within 12-24 hours
- High-resolution 600 dpi images in PNG, SVG and PDF formats
- No membership forms to complete
- 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. Every number we sell is checked 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 now 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, sold 12-digit numbers outright with no recurring charge. When the UCC merged into GS1 US in the late 1990s, GS1 began charging annual fees to everyone, including members who had already paid once.
Those members took GS1 to court, and they 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 to them. 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, since no barcode company can supply a prefix for a single barcode number. Buy a block of 10, 100, 1,000 or 10,000, though, and your numbers arrive with 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 adhesive labels. You can resize it first, as long as you stay inside the permitted dimensions. After that, when a retailer takes your product in, they scan the barcode once and enter your product details against it. From then on, every scan automatically brings up that information.
How big should it be?
The standard size is 37.3 × 25.9 mm. You can shrink it to 80% or enlarge it to 200% and still stay within spec. Individual retailers vary in how strict they are. However, if you need a verification report, stick to the
standard sizes, because anything outside them 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, though it depends on which colours you choose. Scanners need enough contrast between the bars and the background, and some colour combinations don’t provide it.
What country code will my number start with?
Ours begin with 06 and 07, which means the number itself originated in the United States. That says nothing about where your product is made. A country code identifies the origin of the barcode number only, never the origin of the goods, and products from any country can carry a number from any other. Our country code page explains this further.
Will my barcode number be registered in an official database?
There is no official national or international barcode database, and registration isn’t compulsory anywhere. We offer free registration for the International Barcodes Database, which is optional and comes with a few benefits. Your barcode works with or without it. Keeping each number tied to a single product is down to you, the manufacturer, and the resellers.
Books, magazines and other formats
What do books need?
Books use ISBN barcodes. Canadian publishers can obtain an ISBN free of charge from Library and Archives Canada, and our book barcode page explains the rest.
What do magazines need?
Magazines use ISSN barcodes. Canadian publishers apply for an ISSN through Library and Archives Canada, and our magazine barcode page explains the rest.
What is a Global Location Number?
A GLN is a globally unique barcode number that some retailers use to identify a supplier’s location rather than a product. A UPC-A or EAN-13 number can serve as one, and we can supply them if a retailer asks you for one.
Still have a question?
We’re a small team, and we answer our own emails, Monday to Friday. Send us your question, and someone will reply within one business day.
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