Barcodes ISSN Runs in your browser

ISSN Barcode Generator

Create an EAN-13 barcode from an ISSN for periodicals.

Your data is processed locally in your browser and is not uploaded to our servers.

What this tool makes

The barcode used on magazines, journals and other periodicals: an EAN-13 built from an ISSN. The number is assembled as prefix 977, the first seven ISSN digits, a two-digit issue or price variant, and a final EAN check digit.

How an ISSN becomes an EAN-13

An ISSN is eight characters — seven digits plus a check character that may be X — and it is defined by ISO 3297 using a modulo-11 checksum. That check character is not carried into the barcode. The 977 prefix and the seven significant digits are, followed by the variant and a fresh modulo-10 check digit. The tool validates your ISSN first, then shows the exact EAN-13 it produced.

The two-digit variant

Those two digits before the check digit distinguish editions, price bands or sequence within a title. Most publishers use 00 unless their distributor assigns something else. If you do not know, ask your distributor rather than guessing — the number ends up in retail systems.

Issue numbers

Newsstand titles often carry a small two-digit add-on next to the main symbol for the issue number. This tool prints the main EAN-13 only, for the same reason as the ISBN tool: an add-on is a separate symbol with its own specification, and a half-correct one is worse than none.

Printing

Cover stock is usually glossy, which scatters light and hurts scan rates. Print bars in solid black, avoid varnish directly over the symbol where you can, keep the quiet zones clear of cover lines, and test on the final stock rather than on office paper.

Limitations

An ISSN is assigned by an ISSN National Centre. Drawing the barcode does not register the title, and does not check that the ISSN belongs to you.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the barcode not contain the ISSN check character?

The EAN-13 recalculates its own check digit over the whole number. The ISSN check character validates the ISSN itself, which the tool does before building the barcode.

What should the two-digit variant be?

Usually 00. Your distributor assigns anything different, so ask rather than guess.

Can I add the issue-number add-on?

Not with this tool. Add-on symbols have their own specification and we only produce formats we can validate completely.

My ISSN ends in X. Is that valid?

Yes. An ISSN check character of X represents the value 10 in its modulo-11 checksum. The tool accepts it.

Curious how we build and check these codes? Read our methodology, and the disclaimer on what a generated barcode image is and is not.