EAN-13 Specifications
The following provides a guideline for the sizes in which you should print the barcode on your product. This is very important if you may require barcode verification. It is also a good guide for making sure that your barcode will scan correctly. If at all possible you should keep your barcode size within these standards. If you go outside these standards, you barcodes might be accepted by some retailers and rejected by others.
Magnification
The specified magnification range for an EAN-13 Bar Code Symbol being scanned at retail point of sale is 80% – 200% (X-dimension 0.26mm-0.66mm).
An allowable minimum magnification of 75% (X-dimension 0.25mm) is applicable only to on demand (e.g. thermal) print processes. In this case, the bar height should never be truncated below the minimum required height for an 80% magnification barcode symbol.
Where an item may also be scanned in a General Distribution Scanning environment (automated scanning), the acceptable magnification range is 150% to 200% (X-dimension 0.50mm – 0.66mm).
Human Readable Interpretation
The Human Readable Interpretation should be printed beneath the bar code symbol.
The recommended typeface for the Human Readable Interpretation is OCR-B at a height of 2.75mm at nominal size (100% magnification, X-dimension 0.33mm). This typeface is a recommendation only and alternative type fonts and character sizes are acceptable provided the digits are clearly legible.
Dimensions (All measurements in millimetres)
| Magnification | X-dimension | Width | Bar height | Left Quiet Zone | Right Quiet Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.80 | 0.26 | 25.08 | 18.28 | 2.90 | 1.85 |
| 0.85 | 0.28 | 26.65 | 19.42 | 3.09 | 1.96 |
| 0.90 | 0.30 | 28.22 | 20.57 | 3.27 | 2.08 |
| 0.95 | 0.31 | 29.78 | 21.71 | 3.45 | 2.19 |
| 1.00 | 0.33 | 31.35 | 22.85 | 3.63 | 2.31 |
| 1.05 | 0.35 | 32.92 | 23.99 | 3.81 | 2.43 |
| 1.10 | 0.36 | 34.49 | 25.14 | 3.99 | 2.54 |
| 1.15 | 0.38 | 36.05 | 26.28 | 4.17 | 2.66 |
| 1.20 | 0.40 | 37.62 | 27.42 | 4.36 | 2.77 |
| 1.25 | 0.41 | 39.19 | 28.56 | 4.54 | 2.89 |
| 1.30 | 0.43 | 40.76 | 29.71 | 4.72 | 3.00 |
| 1.35 | 0.45 | 42.32 | 30.85 | 4.90 | 3.12 |
| 1.40 | 0.46 | 43.89 | 31.99 | 5.08 | 3.23 |
| 1.45 | 0.48 | 45.46 | 33.13 | 5.26 | 3.35 |
| 1.50 | 0.50 | 47.03 | 34.28 | 5.45 | 3.47 |
| 1.55 | 0.51 | 48.59 | 35.42 | 5.63 | 3.58 |
| 1.60 | 0.53 | 50.16 | 36.56 | 5.81 | 3.70 |
| 1.65 | 0.54 | 51.73 | 37.70 | 5.99 | 3.81 |
| 1.70 | 0.56 | 53.30 | 38.85 | 6.17 | 3.93 |
| 1.75 | 0.58 | 54.86 | 39.99 | 6.35 | 4.04 |
| 1.80 | 0.59 | 56.43 | 41.13 | 6.53 | 4.16 |
| 1.85 | 0.61 | 58.00 | 42.27 | 6.72 | 4.27 |
| 1.90 | 0.63 | 59.57 | 43.42 | 6.90 | 4.39 |
| 1.95 | 0.64 | 61.13 | 44.56 | 7.08 | 4.50 |
| 2.00 | 0.66 | 62.70 | 45.70 | 7.26 | 4.62 |
Note about the right quiet zone
Our barcode images feature a ‘>’ after the final bars. This is to enforce a ‘quiet zone’ which prevents other elements of the packaging design getting too close to the bars. It is there to improve the ability of barcode scanners to read the image. We recommend leaving this in place. If you do remove it, please ensure you test scan your final product packaging to ensure the barcode image still reads well.
Terms:
– Bar Width = width of barcode symbol excluding Quiet Zones
– Bar Height = height of bar excluding guard bar patterns
– Quiet Zone = Area of white space on either side of the bars
It is a good idea to allow for more quiet zone space than is strictly required in case of ink spread or printing inaccuracies
If you are unclear on any of our terms used here, please contact us.