ISBN barcode generator
Paste the ISBN from your publisher or ISBN agency; we draw the EAN-13 barcode for the back cover.
ISBN-13 (978 or 979) or an old 10-digit ISBN; hyphens are fine.
About ISBN
A book barcode is an EAN-13 that starts with 978 or 979. If you give us a 10-digit ISBN, we convert it: 978 in front and a new check digit.
ISBNs come from your country’s ISBN agency (Bowker in the US, Nielsen in the UK, the ISBN centre of your national library elsewhere). Each edition and format needs its own.
What goes in it
- Input
- ISBN-13 (978/979) or ISBN-10, hyphens fine
- Encoded as
- EAN-13
- Printed
- The 13 digits below the bars; add the “ISBN …” line above in your cover file
- Size
- At least 80% of 37.3 × 25.9 mm on the back cover
Where ISBN is used
The ISBN barcode goes on the back cover of a printed book, usually at the bottom right, so bookshops, libraries and distributors can scan it. Each format needs its own ISBN: a hardback, a paperback and an audiobook are three different numbers.
ISBNs come from the ISBN agency in your country, often through your publisher or self-publishing platform. Modern ISBNs have 13 digits and start with 978 or 979; older 10-digit ones are converted automatically.
Printing it so it scans
Print dark bars on a white or light background; black on white is safest. Red, orange and yellow bars vanish under the red light most laser scanners use. Keep the quiet zones on both sides free of text and graphics.
Do not squash the height or crop the bars, and keep the size within the range the symbology allows. Thinner bars need more precise printing, so test small sizes first.
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.
ISBN questions
No. E-books need an ISBN but nothing scans them at a till.
No. A new edition, a hardback and a paperback each need their own ISBN and barcode.
Black on white scans best. Dark blue or dark green on a pale background also work; red bars do not.
An e-book may need its own ISBN for some stores, but it has no cover to print a barcode on, so the barcode is only for printed formats.