How to Get a Barcode for Your Product – 4 Simple Steps Which Could Increase Your Sales

How to Get a Barcode for Your Product – 4 Simple Steps Which Could Increase Your Sales

If you want to sell your product through mainstream retail channels (i.e. shops, whether in the high street or online), you’re almost certainly going to need a barcode for your product.  This might seem daunting, but can be quite straightforward.  This article tells you how to get a barcode for your product.

There are four main steps involved in getting a barcode for your own product.  First, you need to get a unique number allocated for your product.  Next, you convert that number into a barcode image suitable for use on your product.  Then, you need to arrange to print that barcode, or incorporate it into your existing label or packaging.  Finally, it needs to be tested to make sure it all works with no surprises.  Let’s go through those steps one at a time.

1.  Get a barcode number allocated to your product.  Of course, no two products worldwide must have the same barcode number.  So, there is a worldwide organisation (GS1) who issue unique numbers to all products.  You need to apply to GS1 for a barcode number for your product.  There is a small cost associated with this, but if you’re serious about selling your product, this will be well worth it.

Usually, you will receive more than one barcode number (for instance, in the UK, the minimum you can buy from GS1UK is 1000 at a time – although, that’s not as many as it sounds!).  Those numbers are allocated forever to you – you can choose which of your products to allocate to which number.

2. Create the barcode image.  Having received your unique barcode number(s), the next step is to convert them into an actual barcode image – the series of black and white bars.  In some cases (such as with GS1 in the United States), you may be provided with an image included with your barcode number.  In other cases, you have to create it yourself, and even if you do receive the image from GS1, you may want to create your own anyway for full control.

To convert your barcode number into an image ready for use, you can either use barcode ‘fonts’, or use software specially designed for the job.  The software solution will almost always create higher-quality results than barcode fonts.  Choose software that can output the graphics in a variety of graphics formats, including TIFF, which your desktop publishing software will be able to use.  Barcode software varies in features and price, but good software is available for well under 0.

3.  Print the barcode.  When you have the barcode image ready, the next step is to incorporate it into your existing label design and/or packaging.  It may be that you (or your

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