How an ISBN barcode works
A book barcode is an EAN-13, the same barcode family as groceries. Since 2007 every ISBN has 13 digits and starts with 978 or 979, which is the book prefix in the EAN system. So your ISBN-13 and the number under the barcode are the same. The ISBN barcode generator draws that EAN-13 and adds the ISBN in text above the bars, as bookshops expect.
The last digit is a check digit. If you type the first 12 digits, it is calculated for you. If you type all 13, a mistyped digit shows up before it reaches your printer.
Where to get an ISBN number
No ISBN generator can create a real ISBN. Each country has one official agency that issues them: Bowker in the US, Nielsen in the UK and Ireland, and Library and Archives Canada in Canada, where they are free. You buy or register a number, assign it to one edition of your book, then make the barcode.
Each format needs its own ISBN. The paperback, hardback and ebook are separate products, so they each get a number. A reprint with no changes keeps the same one.
How to create an ISBN barcode
- Get your ISBN-13 from your national ISBN agency.
- Type it into the generator without hyphens or spaces.
- Check the digits in the preview against your ISBN record.
- Download SVG for your cover file; it stays sharp at any size.
- Place it on the back cover, usually lower right, on a white panel about 38 mm wide.
Scanning book barcodes
The barcode on a book is read like any EAN-13, so any retail scanner or barcode scanner app returns the ISBN-13. That is handy for cataloguing a home library, checking a second-hand stock list or pricing books to sell. Our online barcode scanner works in the browser on a phone or computer: point the camera at the back cover, or upload a photo. Several books photographed together can be read from one image.
Comics and magazines often use a different layout, with an EAN-13 or UPC plus a two- or five-digit add-on for the issue number. The main barcode still scans, but the add-on may be ignored by basic readers.
The price add-on
Some book barcodes carry a small extra block of five digits to the right. That is an EAN-5 add-on holding the price, for example 51995 for US$19.95, or 90000 when no price is encoded. US bookshops and distributors often ask for it.
Our generator makes the EAN-13 part only. The EAN-5 add-on is not supported yet. If your distributor needs it, check whether your cover designer or printer can add it, and ask your distributor whether the plain EAN-13 is accepted.
