--- title: "Free ISBN barcode generator for books (EAN-13) | IN TEMPO" description: "Make your book’s EAN-13 barcode from its ISBN, free: GS1 size, the “ISBN 978-…” line, a 100 % black vector file." url: "https://www.intempo.fr/en/outils/code-barres-isbn/" lang: "en" --- # Free ISBN barcode generator Type your book’s ISBN: the EAN-13 barcode for the back cover appears at once, at the standard size, ready to download. Form: `GET https://www.intempo.fr/en/outils/code-barres-isbn/` Makes a book’s EAN-13 barcode (GS1 standard) from its ISBN, for the back cover. Answers with the hyphenated ISBN and the barcode as a 100 % black SVG. Nothing is kept. - The book’s ISBN (`isbn`): The book’s ISBN, ISBN-13 or ISBN-10, with its hyphens as they appear in the document sent by the ISBN agency, for example 978-1-84749-261-6. - Size (`taille`): The size as a percentage of the GS1 standard size, 80 to 200; 100 by default. - Price printed under the barcode (optional) (`prix`): The price printed as text under the barcode, optional, for example “€18.00”. It is not encoded. - Five-digit price add-on, for books sold in the United States or Canada (`ajout`): `aucun`, `usd`, `cad`, `sans-prix` - Amount (`montant`): With ajout usd or cad: the price in dollars, 0.01 to 99.99. - Bar width reduction (mm) (`reduction`): The bar width reduction in mm, 0 to 0.05, only if the printer asks for one; 0 by default. The generator draws the barcode in your browser and needs JavaScript to do so. Turn it on to use the tool; you can read the rest of the page without JavaScript. ### Download The PDF is vector, in 100 % black (C0 M0 Y0 K100): it is the one for the printer. The SVG goes into InDesign, Affinity or Illustrator; the PNG into Canva or Word. In all three the text is drawn: no font is needed. Download the PDFDownload the SVG PNG resolution \[x] 300 dpi \[ ] 600 dpi \[ ] 1200 dpi PNG background \[x] White background \[ ] Transparent background Download the PNG Copy the link to this barcode The files are offered once the ISBN is valid and written with its hyphens. ## How an ISBN barcode reads ISBN 978-2-07-036822-8, as this generator draws it. Each number points to a part of the line above the bars. 1. **978**: The GS1 prefix: 978 or 979 for a book. 2. **2**: The registration group: a country, a region or a language area. 3. **07**: The publisher: the more titles it plans to publish, the shorter its number. 4. **036822**: The title: the particular edition of the book from that publisher. 5. **8**: The check digit, worked out from the twelve digits before it. Source[ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §5](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## How it works 1. Type the ISBN as it appears in the document sent by your ISBN agency, with its hyphens: the generator checks the check digit and turns an old 10-digit ISBN into its ISBN-13. 2. Keep the standard size, 100 %, or set it between 80 % and 200 %; add the price as text if you need it. 3. Download the PDF for the printer, or the SVG and the PNG for your software, then place the barcode at the lower right of the back cover. Source[GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, Table 5-44](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## Before you start: getting an ISBN This generator does not give you an ISBN: it draws the barcode of an ISBN you already have. An ISBN comes from the agency of the country where the publisher is established. - In France, from AFNIL: €37 excl. VAT for a first request, with a standard processing time of three weeks. - In Belgium, from AFNIL for publishers in Wallonia and Brussels, or from Meta4books for those in Flanders and Brussels. - In Switzerland, from the Swiss ISBN agency, whose details the International ISBN Agency gives. Sources[AFNIL, prices](https://www.afnil.org/tarification/) [KBR, ISBN](https://www.kbr.be/fr/isbn/) [International ISBN Agency, national agencies](https://www.isbn-international.org/agencies) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## Size and margins The standard size is GS1’s 100 %; it can be reduced to 80 % or enlarged to 200 %. Keep the bars at their full height: GS1 accepts a truncated barcode, with shortened bars, only when a full-size one cannot be printed, because it scans less well. An empty area must remain on each side of the bars: 11 modules on the left and 7 on the right. A module is the width of the narrowest bar. The generator includes these margins, with the “>” mark. | Size | Module (X) | Symbol, with margins and digits | | --------------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------- | | GS1, 80 % (minimum) | 0.264 mm | 29.83 × 20.74 mm | | GS1, 100 % (standard) | 0.330 mm | 37.29 × 25.93 mm | | GS1, 200 % (maximum) | 0.660 mm | 74.58 × 51.86 mm | The “ISBN 978-…” line goes above the symbol, at 9 points or more. Sources[GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §5.2.6.6 (Figure 5-23), §4.2.7 and Table 5-44](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) [ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §13.1 and §13.2](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## Where to put it on the back cover - At the lower right of the back cover, near the spine, as the ISBN Users’ Manual and GS1 ask. - At least 8 mm from the nearest edge, where possible: GS1’s rule, and the tool’s preview keeps 8 mm from the bottom and the spine. - With nothing over it: no picture or text on the bars or in their light margins. Sources[ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §13.2](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) [GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §6.4.11, §6.3.3.3 and §5.12.2.5](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## The price: why not in the barcode in France France’s law of 10 August 1981, the loi Lang, requires the publisher to set the retail price of each book and make it known to the public; a decree sets how it appears on the book. That price does not go into the barcode: the ISBN Users’ Manual keeps the five-digit price add-on for books sold in the United States and Canada, and asks that it not carry a price elsewhere. Print it as text, under the barcode: the generator can add it. Sources[Légifrance, law no. 81-766 of 10 August 1981, article 1](https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000000517179) [ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §13.3](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## Check before printing - Scan the barcode, printed or on screen, with a scanner or a reader app: it must give back the 13 digits of the ISBN. To measure its quality, GS1 refers to ISO/IEC 15416. - Choose black bars on a white background for the best contrast according to GS1. Other colours are possible if the contrast remains sufficient; check with your printer. - Choose its size in the generator, and do not enlarge or reduce it afterwards in your software: GS1 lists a rescaled image among the causes of a barcode that scans badly. Source[GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §5.12.5.1, §5.12.5.11.1 and §5.12.5.12](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## Frequently asked questions **Does a book have to carry a barcode?** In France, the ISBN must appear on the book, but a barcode is not mandatory. For a book sold in bookshops, a barcode is nevertheless needed in practice: tills read the ISBN from its EAN-13 barcode, and GS1 specifies that the barcode should appear on the book’s cover for scanning at the till. Sources[AFNIL, the agency](https://www.afnil.org/agence/) [ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §2](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) [GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §6.4.11](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 **Does this generator give me an ISBN?** No: it draws the barcode of an ISBN already assigned; in France, an ISBN comes from AFNIL, €37 excl. VAT for a first request at the standard rate. Source[AFNIL, prices](https://www.afnil.org/tarification/) Checked on 11 October 2026 **Do I have to buy the barcode from AFNIL?** No: AFNIL sells it for €9 excl. VAT, and this generator draws the same EAN-13 symbol from the same ISBN, free. Source[AFNIL, prices](https://www.afnil.org/tarification/) Checked on 11 October 2026 **How big should the barcode be?** At the standard size the symbol measures 37.29 × 25.93 mm with its margins and digits; GS1 allows 80 % to 200 % of that size. Source[GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §5.2.6.6 (Figure 5-23) and Table 5-44](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 **Where does the barcode go on the back cover?** At the lower right, near the spine, and at least 8 mm from the nearest edge where possible. Sources[ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §13.2](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) [GS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §6.4.11 and §6.3.3.3](https://ref.gs1.org/standards/genspecs/) Checked on 11 October 2026 **Should the price be in the barcode?** Not in France: the five-digit price add-on is kept for books sold in the United States and Canada, and the price is printed as text. Source[ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §13.3](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) Checked on 11 October 2026 **Does an e-book need a barcode?** No: the barcode is for the printed book, at the till. An e-book has its own ISBN, separate from the printed edition’s. Source[ISBN Users’ Manual, 7th edition, §2 and §6.1](https://www.isbn-international.org/content/isbn-users-manual/29) Checked on 11 October 2026 ## In the glossary - [ISBN](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/isbn/) - [EAN barcode](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/code-barres-ean/) - [Back cover](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/quatrieme-de-couverture/) - [AFNIL](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/afnil/) - [Printer’s proof](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/bon-a-tirer/) ## Having this book printed? IN TEMPO finds the printer that suits your book, in France or elsewhere in Europe, and follows it from the file to the delivered book. A person answers. [Get in touch →](https://www.intempo.fr/en/contact/)