Resources
Do you need a GS1 barcode?
It is the first question almost everyone asks before they print their first label — and the answer is simpler than it looks. It comes down to who scans the barcode.
Who is going to scan it?
That single question decides whether you need to buy registered barcode numbers or can simply make up your own.
Someone outside your business — you need registered numbers
If your product is sold through a supermarket, retailer, distributor or any external logistics chain, the barcode must be globally unique. Two suppliers must never end up with the same number on different products.
That uniqueness is what you are buying when you register with GS1. Typical cases:
- Retail products scanned at a checkout
- Wholesale cartons scanned by a distributor
- Pallets moving through third-party logistics
Only your own team — use your own numbers
If the barcode never leaves your business, nobody needs to guarantee it is unique in the world — only that it is unique to you. Make up a numbering range that suits you and print it.
Typical cases:
- Asset and equipment tags
- Quality assurance and batch tracking
- Security and staff ID cards
- Internal logistics, rack and bin locations
If you need registered numbers
How to get them
1. Contact GS1
In New Zealand that is GS1 New Zealand. Elsewhere, find the GS1 member organisation for your country — they are the body that issues retail and wholesale barcode numbers.
2. Get your number range
You are allocated a company prefix and assign product numbers within it. How many you need depends on how many distinct products, sizes and variants you sell.
3. Print them with barxui
Put the numbers in a spreadsheet, import it, and link the barcode object on your label to that column. One design then prints every product.
Glossary
Which barcode type do you want?
barxui supports sixteen types. These are the ones most people actually need.
| Type | Commonly used for |
|---|---|
| GS1-13 / EAN-13 | Retail products scanned at a checkout. The everyday supermarket barcode. |
| UPC | Retail products, predominantly North America. |
| GS1-128 | Logistics and cartons. Carries structured data such as batch, quantity and use-by date. |
| SSCC | Serial shipping container codes — identifying a pallet or carton through the supply chain. |
| ITF-14 | Outer cartons and shipping cases. |
| Code 128 | General purpose. Compact, handles letters and numbers. |
| Code 39 | Older general-purpose format, still common on asset tags. |
| QR | Links, product information and anything a phone camera will scan. |
Learn more
Introductions to barcoding
Useful background from elsewhere on the web. We were not involved in making these videos and copyright remains with their owners.
More from barxui
Feature list
The full technical specification — barcode types, media sizes, data sources and platform details.
Walkthrough
From spreadsheet to printed label in four steps, with screenshots.
Got your numbers? Start printing
Import your product list, link it to a label design, and print. Fourteen days free, no payment details.