GS1 DataMatrix generator
The square code on medicine packs and medical devices: product, expiry, batch and serial number in one mark.
GS1 element strings like (01)09501101530003(17)271231(10)AB12.
About GS1 DataMatrix
GS1 DataMatrix is Data Matrix with GS1 application identifiers, the same fields as GS1-128 in a much smaller square.
Medicine serialisation rules in Europe and the US and medical-device UDI rules ask for it. It usually carries (01) GTIN, (17) expiry, (10) batch and (21) serial number.
What goes in it
- Format
- (AI)value(AI)value…
- Typical
- (01) GTIN, (17) expiry, (10) batch, (21) serial
- Used for
- Medicine packs, medical devices, serialised goods
- Readers
- Pharmacy and hospital 2D scanners
Where GS1 DataMatrix is used
GS1 DataMatrix is the 2D code of healthcare. Prescription medicine packs in the EU carry one with the product code, serial number, batch and expiry date, and medical device UDI labels use it too.
Retail is moving the same way: GS1 is working towards 2D codes at the checkout, so a single code can carry the GTIN together with a batch, an expiry date or a link. Put the GTIN in (01) and add only the identifiers your trading partners ask for.
Printing it so it scans
Use dark modules on a white or light background and keep a clear margin of at least one module all round. When marking parts directly, make sure the mark contrasts well with the material.
The smaller the code, the more precise the printing has to be. Print a proof at the real size and test it with a phone and with the scanners your partners use.
Send your printer SVG or PDF: they are vectors and stay sharp at any size. Before the run, scan a proof with a real scanner or a phone and check that the number it reads is right.
GS1 DataMatrix questions
It draws the code. Serial numbers also have to be registered with your national verification system; that part is not something we do.
YYMMDD after (17), for example (17)271231.
Yes. We use them to split the fields; they are not encoded.