Barcode types

Linear symbologies

One-dimensional codes, read by a scanning laser or an imager. The X-dimension is the width of the narrowest bar, and it is the number that decides whether a given printer can produce the symbol reliably.

Matrix symbologies

Two-dimensional codes, which need a camera or imager rather than a laser. Here the X-dimension is the width of one module — a single cell of the matrix — and the quiet zone runs on all four sides rather than left and right.

Use this data

The table above is available as JSON under CC BY 4.0. Use it in your own tooling or documentation — the only condition is attribution back to this page.

/api/symbologies.json

Every symbology in detail

• Code 128

  Code 128 is a variable-length linear barcode that encodes the full ASCII character set, which makes it the usual choice for internal SKUs, carton IDs and anything that mixes letters with digits.

• GS1-128

  GS1-128 is Code 128 carrying structured GS1 data, where each field is introduced by a two-to-four digit Application Identifier in parentheses — (01) for a GTIN, (10) for a batch or lot, (17) for an expiry date.

• EAN-13

  EAN-13 is the 13-digit retail barcode used on consumer products everywhere outside the United States and Canada, and it is readable at US checkouts too.

• EAN-8

  EAN-8 is the short retail barcode for packs that are physically too small to carry an EAN-13 at a readable size.

• UPC-A

  UPC-A is the 12-digit retail barcode used in the United States and Canada.

• UPC-E

  UPC-E is a compressed form of UPC-A that prints six data digits instead of eleven by suppressing runs of zeros in the original number.

• Code 39

  Code 39 is an older linear symbology encoding capital letters, digits and a handful of punctuation characters, still in use because a very large amount of installed equipment reads it.

• ITF-14

  ITF-14 encodes a 14-digit GTIN on shipping cartons and cases, and is built for printing directly onto corrugated board where finer symbologies break down.

• Codabar

  Codabar is a self-checking numeric symbology from 1972 that is still in daily use in blood banks and libraries, kept alive by the cost of replacing the systems built around it.

• GS1 DataBar

  GS1 DataBar encodes a full 14-digit GTIN in substantially less space than an EAN-13, which is why it is the symbology on loose produce and small items at grocery point of sale.

• QR Code

  QR Code is a two-dimensional matrix symbology that holds far more data than any linear barcode and is read by ordinary phone cameras, which is what makes it the format for consumer-facing links on packaging.

• Data Matrix

  Data Matrix is a two-dimensional symbology built for marking very small items, and it reaches a smaller physical footprint than QR Code for the same data.

• PDF417

  PDF417 is a stacked linear symbology that holds far more data than a one-dimensional barcode while still being read by a scanning laser rather than requiring a camera.

• Aztec

  Aztec Code is a two-dimensional symbology whose defining feature is that it requires no quiet zone at all, which makes it the most space-efficient option where the surrounding clear space is the binding constraint.