Free ISSN barcode generator
Type your periodical’s ISSN: the EAN-13 barcode starting with 977 appears at once, with its variant and, if you want it, the issue number, ready to download.
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.
Hyphens from the ranges of the International ISBN Agency, read from its site.
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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.
The files are offered once the ISSN is valid.
How an ISSN barcode reads
ISSN 0317-8471, with issue number 05, as this generator draws it. Each number points to a part of the thirteen digits under the bars, or to the small code on the right.
- 977: The GS1 prefix of serial publications.
- 0317847: The first seven digits of the ISSN, without its check character.
- 00: The variant: 00 if you do not need to distinguish different prices or the publication days of a daily.
- 1: The EAN-13’s check digit, worked out again from the twelve digits before it.
- 05: The issue number, in the small two-digit code.
Before you start: getting an ISSN
This generator does not give you an ISSN: it draws the barcode of an ISSN the periodical already has. An ISSN comes from the ISSN centre of the country where the periodical is published.
- In France, from the Centre ISSN France at the BnF, and not before publication: for a printed periodical, legal deposit of the first issue leads to an ISSN being assigned, provided the periodical does not fall into a category excluded by the BnF.
- In Belgium, from the Belgian centre at KBR, free, and before publication on a draft.
- In Switzerland, from the ISSN Centre Switzerland at the Swiss National Library, free.
- In Canada, from ISSN Canada at Library and Archives Canada, free, before or after publication.
- In Spain, from the Centro Nacional Español del ISSN at the BNE, free, before the first issue; in Catalonia, from the Biblioteca de Catalunya.
- In the United Kingdom, from the ISSN UK Centre at the British Library.
- In the United States, from the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress, free.
SourcesBnF, ISSN: how it worksKBR, ISSNKBR, ISSN requests: frequently asked questionsSwiss National Library, ISSN Centre SwitzerlandLibrary and Archives Canada, ISSNBNE, Centro Nacional Español del ISSNBritish Library, collection metadata servicesLibrary of Congress, ISSN: frequently asked questions
How a periodical’s barcode is built
A periodical’s barcode is an EAN-13, as a book’s is, but it starts with 977, the prefix GS1 keeps for the ISSN. Then come the first seven digits of the ISSN, without its check character, then two variant digits, then the EAN-13’s own check digit, worked out again.
ISSN 0317-8471 thus gives 977 0317847 00 1. The ISSN’s check character is replaced by the EAN-13’s check digit; in this example, both happen to be 1.
The variant
The two variant digits tell apart issues of the same title sold at a different price, or the days of a daily within a week. Use 00 if you do not need to distinguish issues sold at different prices or the publication days of a daily: it is the generator’s default.
The issue number
The issue number is printed in a small two-digit code to the right of the barcode, parallel to it. It is optional, and its value depends on how often the periodical appears.
| Frequency | What the two digits say | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly | The number of the week | 01 to 53 |
| Every two weeks | The first week of the period | 01 to 53 |
| Monthly | The number of the month | 01 to 12 |
| Every two months or quarterly | The first month of the period | 01 to 12 |
| Seasonal | The year’s last digit, then the season: 1 spring, 2 summer, 3 autumn, 4 winter | 61 = spring 2026 |
| Half-yearly | The year’s last digit, then the period’s first season | 63 = autumn 2026 |
| Annual | The year’s last digit, then 5 | 65 = 2026 |
| Irregular | The issues numbered in order | 01 to 99 |
For a daily, each day of the week is a separate item: the two-digit code gives the week, and the variant tells the days apart.
Who makes the barcode
No ISSN centre supplies the barcode. The BnF directs publishers to GS1 France, which requires membership; the Belgian centre and the International Centre explain that it is composed from the ISSN, which is what this generator does.
Print the ISSN as text too: using it in the barcode does not replace showing it, readable by eye, on the periodical.
Where to print the ISSN
The ISSN is printed preferably in the upper right corner of the cover; failing that, on the page with the publisher’s details. In France, it is a mandatory legal notice on a printed periodical.
Print and online: one ISSN each
An ISSN identifies a title on a given medium, not each issue: the printed and the online edition of the same periodical each have their own. Each may carry both, with the edition each one belongs to in brackets. The barcode, read at the till, is the printed edition’s.
Size
A periodical’s barcode has the dimensions of any EAN-13: 37.29 × 25.93 mm at the standard size, with its margins and digits, from 80 % to 200 % of that size. The small issue code takes the same module width as the main symbol, a module being the width of the narrowest bar.
Frequently asked questions
Does this generator give me an ISSN?
No: it draws the barcode of an ISSN already assigned; in France, the BnF assigns ISSNs, and not before the first issue is published.
SourceBnF, ISSN: how it works
Which variant should I choose?
Use 00 if you do not need to distinguish issues sold at different prices or the publication days of a daily.
Which issue number for a monthly?
The number of the month, 01 to 12; for a quarterly, the quarter’s first month, and for a weekly, the number of the week, 01 to 53.
Does the online edition have the same ISSN?
No: an ISSN identifies a title on a given medium, print or electronic; the online edition has its own.
SourceBnF, ISSN: how it works
Why is my ISSN’s check character not in the barcode?
Because the barcode takes the ISSN’s first seven digits without its check character, and calculates a new check digit from the first twelve digits of the EAN-13.
Do I need a GS1 membership for a periodical’s barcode?
Not to compose it: the 977 code is worked out from the ISSN, as the ISSN International Centre and the Belgian centre explain; the BnF, for its part, points publishers to GS1 France, which requires a membership.
Does an ISSN cost anything?
Not in Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, Spain or the United States, where the ISSN centres assign it free.
Where does the ISSN go on a periodical?
In the upper right corner of the cover, preferably; in France, the ISSN is a mandatory legal notice on a printed periodical.
Having this periodical printed?
IN TEMPO chooses the printer that suits your periodical, in France or elsewhere in Europe, and follows it from file to delivery. A person answers you.
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How it works
SourceGS1 General Specifications, Release 26.0, §2.1.3.5 ↗