Barcode label examples

The right barcode label depends on what it’s labelling. A retail product, a shipping carton and a warehouse bin each call for different formats and layouts.

Retail product label

A UPC-A or EAN-13 symbol, the product name, and often the price, sized to sit within GS1’s magnification range. This is the one case where the number has to be registered; see do you need a GS1 number. Generate one on the UPC-A generator.

Shipping carton label

Usually larger, printed directly on the box, and may combine a Code 128 tracking number with a separate ITF-14 case code. We don’t yet generate ITF-14 (see why), but Code 128 reference numbers are covered by the Code 128 generator.

Internal warehouse or asset label

Small, dense, and built for speed rather than legibility to a human. Code 128 is the standard here: no registration needed, and it packs more data into less space than the retail formats. See LPN barcode labels for the warehouse-specific version.

See the full comparison on the barcode chart.

A barcode generated on this page is not a registered GTIN. It encodes whatever number you enter into a valid, scannable symbol. It does not register that number to you. Selling through a retailer or listing on a marketplace under most categories requires a number issued to your business by GS1. See do you need a GS1 number before you print at scale.

Written by Robert Wells · Published 2026-08-03