HandyQRCodeWhat is an EAN-8 barcode?
EAN-8 is the short version of the EAN-13 barcode. It holds an 8-digit number, the GTIN-8, and is about a third smaller, so it fits products where an EAN-13 would not: lipsticks, pencils, small sweets, sachets. Shop scanners read it just like an EAN-13.
Where does the EAN-8 number come from?
EAN-8 numbers are scarce, so they are not part of a normal company prefix. Your national GS1 office issues them one at a time, on request, and only when an EAN-13 really doesn’t fit on the package; it usually asks for the package size and may suggest a smaller EAN-13 first. Contact your GS1 office as described in how to get a barcode for your product.
How to make an EAN-8 barcode
- Type the first 7 digits of the number from GS1. The 8th digit, the check digit, is added automatically.
- Keep “Show the number/text under the bars” switched on; the digits are printed in two groups of four.
- Download as SVG for the packaging designer, or PNG at 4× for labels.
The 8 digits and the check digit
The last digit is calculated from the first 7 with the GS1 modulo 10 rule: from the right, multiply the digits alternately by 3 and 1, add them up, and take the amount needed to reach the next multiple of 10. Example: 9638507 → 7×3 + 0×1 + 5×3 + 8×1 + 3×3 + 6×1 + 9×3 = 86 → 90 − 86 = 4 → 96385074. To check many numbers at once, use the check digit calculator.
Sizes and printing
- At 100 % an EAN-8 is about 27 × 21 mm including the digits, against about 37 × 26 mm for an EAN-13. It can usually be scaled between 80 % and 200 %.
- Don’t cut the bars shorter, and keep the white margins on both sides: about 7 narrow bars, or 2.3 mm at 100 %. Barcodes made here include them.
- Dark bars on a light background; test-print at the final size and scan before printing the packaging.
EAN-8, EAN-13 or UPC-E?
- EAN-13 is the normal choice. Use it whenever it fits, even if that means a slightly smaller size or a different spot on the pack.
- EAN-8 is for packages that are really too small, and only with a number from GS1.
- UPC-E is the North American small-package barcode: a shortened form of certain UPC-A numbers, not an EAN-8. This generator doesn’t make UPC-E.