ISBN Barcode Generator

What this tool makes

The barcode printed on the back of a book: a standard EAN-13 carrying the ISBN, often called a Bookland EAN. Paste an ISBN-10 or ISBN-13, with or without hyphens, and the tool validates it, converts it if needed, and draws the symbol with the ISBN shown in human-readable form above the bars.

ISBN-10, ISBN-13 and the 978 prefix

ISBN-13 is an ISBN-10 with the prefix 978 in front and a new check digit calculated with the GS1 modulo-10 method. That is why the last digit changes when you convert: the two systems use different checksums — ISBN-10 uses modulo 11 and can end in X, ISBN-13 cannot. Numbers issued under the 979 prefix have no ISBN-10 equivalent at all, and the tool says so instead of guessing.

Validation you can see

Every step is shown: the normalised number, which format you supplied, the check digit you entered against the one calculated, and the converted form. If a digit is wrong, you get the corrected number and a button to use it — far more useful than a red "invalid".

Price add-ons

Many book covers carry a small five-digit add-on beside the main symbol encoding a price or currency code. This tool prints the main EAN-13 only. Add-ons are a separate symbol with their own rules, and rather than half-implement them we leave them out; your printer or distributor can place one alongside if your market requires it.

Printing on a cover

Print at or near nominal size, keep the white quiet zone on both sides (the left one is easy to lose against a dark cover design), and never print bars in anything but a dark solid colour on a light background. Test with a real retail scanner before the print run — a returned pallet of books is an expensive lesson.

Limitations

Generating this symbol does not register an ISBN. ISBNs are issued by national ISBN agencies, and the number must be assigned to your title before it means anything in a bookshop's system. Read the ISBN barcode guide for the full picture.