Step 1: get an ISBN
ISBNs are issued by one agency per country. In Australia that is Thorpe-Bowker (this guide could not confirm its current pricing or process online); in the UK, Nielsen; in the US, Bowker. Agencies sell single ISBNs and blocks of ten or more, and blocks are much cheaper per number. You need one ISBN per format: paperback, hardback, ebook and audiobook each get their own. Some self-publishing platforms offer a free ISBN, but they are then recorded as the publisher, and that ISBN can only be used on their platform.
Step 2: make the barcode
An ISBN barcode is an EAN-13 of the 13-digit ISBN. Enter your ISBN in the ISBN barcode generator with its hyphens exactly as on your allocation (for example 978-0-306-40615-7): with hyphens, the barcode also prints the "ISBN" line above the bars. If you have an older 10-digit ISBN, the tool converts it. Download the SVG or PDF, both vector, so the bars stay sharp in your cover file.
The price add-on
A small 5-digit barcode to the right of the main one encodes a suggested retail price for the US book trade: 5 followed by the price in US cents (52495 for US$24.95), or 90000 for no price. Australian and UK books usually leave it off. Add it only if your distributor or printer asks.
Size and placement
- Use the barcode at about 100% EAN-13 size (around 37 mm wide) and do not reduce the bar height.
- Place it at the bottom of the back cover, usually on the right, on a white rectangle with a few millimetres of clear space all round.
- Black bars on white. Coloured or reversed barcodes may not scan at bookshop tills.
- Keep it clear of the spine and the trim area; check your printer's cover template for the safe area.
Before you print
Check the barcode in your final cover PDF at 100% zoom, then scan a printed proof with a phone barcode app: it should read the 13-digit ISBN starting 978 or 979. Make sure the ISBN in the barcode matches the one on the copyright page and the one registered with your agency for that format.
Registering details
After allocating an ISBN to a book, record the title, format and publication details with your agency, so that bookshops and libraries can find it. In Australia, you may also have legal deposit obligations to the National Library and your state library; check their current requirements.
Print-on-demand platforms
Some print-on-demand services add the barcode to your cover automatically when you upload it, in a white box at a fixed position. Read their cover guidelines before placing your own barcode: if they add one, leave the space clear, because two barcodes on one cover confuse bookshop systems. If you supply your own cover with a barcode, follow their size and position rules and use the same ISBN you entered in their system.
Common mistakes
- Using the ebook ISBN on the paperback, or the same ISBN for two formats.
- Shrinking the barcode to fit a busy design.
- Placing the barcode over a photograph or a coloured background.
- Getting the hyphens wrong in the text line. Copy them from your allocation.
Hardback and paperback covers
A hardback with a dust jacket carries the barcode on the jacket; if the case is sold without a jacket, the barcode goes on the back of the case. Each binding has its own ISBN, so a paperback and a hardback of the same book have different barcodes even when their covers look the same. Keep a simple list of which ISBN belongs to which format and check it against every cover file before sending it to print.