What UPC-E is
UPC-E is a zero-suppressed version of a UPC-A. It packs a 12-digit number into six encoded digits by leaving out zeros in fixed positions, giving a barcode about half the width. The scanner expands it back to the full UPC-A, so the product is still identified by its 12-digit GTIN.
How the compression works
The last of the six digits says how the other five map onto the manufacturer and product parts of the UPC-A:
- 0, 1 or 2: the manufacturer part is the first two digits, then that digit, then 00; the product part is 00 followed by digits three to five.
- 3: the manufacturer part is the first three digits then 00; the product part is 000 followed by digits four and five.
- 4: the manufacturer part is the first four digits then 0; the product part is 0000 followed by digit five.
- 5 to 9: the manufacturer part is the first five digits; the product part is 0000 followed by that last digit.
The check digit is the UPC-A check digit of the expanded number. The tool shows the expanded UPC-A when it calculates it, so you can confirm it matches the number on your GS1 certificate.
Size
UPC-E has 51 modules plus quiet zones, about 22.11 mm wide at 100% with 0.33 mm modules. The usual 80% to 200% magnification range applies.
Printing tips
- Print at 100%. In the print dialog choose "Actual size" or 100%, never "Fit to page". Scaling changes the bar widths, and a barcode printed at 94% can fall outside the reader's tolerance.
- Use vector files where you can. The SVG and PDF downloads are vector: bars stay sharp at any size and the PDF page is exactly the barcode's size. Use PNG for software that only takes images, at 300 dpi for office printers and 600 dpi for thermal label printers.
- Dark bars, light background. Black on white scans best. Dark blue and dark green work; red, orange and yellow bars are invisible to red-light laser scanners. The tool warns when the contrast is low.
- Keep the quiet zone. The clear margin either side of the bars is part of the symbol. Do not let text, a box edge or a label edge into it.
- Test before a print run. Print one, then scan it with the scanner your customers or staff will actually use, and with a phone app, before printing hundreds.
Why barcodes fail to scan
- Too small or scaled. Bars printed narrower than the reader can resolve, or a file squashed in one direction when it was placed in artwork.
- No quiet zone. Text, a border or the edge of the label too close to the first or last bar.
- Low contrast. Grey on grey, coloured bars on a coloured background, or bars printed on a shiny or transparent surface.
- Ink spread and blur. Inkjets on absorbent paper and worn thermal printheads widen the bars. Print a test and check the bars look crisp; for thermal printers, use 600 dpi or the printer's native resolution.
- Curved or creased surfaces. Bars wrapped around a narrow bottle or across a fold. Turn the barcode so the bars run with the curve (picket fence across a flat face, ladder around a cylinder).
- Wrong data. A check digit that does not match, or a number with the wrong length. This tool checks both before it draws anything.
Which download to use
- SVG for designers and packaging artwork. It is a vector file sized in millimetres, so it opens at the right size in Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity and Canva, and stays sharp when printed. Do not stretch it in one direction.
- PDF when you send a file to a printer or place it in a print layout. The page is exactly the size of the barcode, quiet zone included, so it can be placed at 100% without measuring.
- PNG for software that only accepts images: label printer apps, spreadsheets, online stores and word processors. Choose 300 dpi for office printers and 600 dpi for thermal label printers. The tool rounds each module to a whole number of pixels so the bars stay crisp, which can make the PNG slightly smaller or larger than the millimetre size; the size line under the preview shows the result. Tick "transparent" to drop the background for placing on coloured artwork, but keep a light background behind the bars when printed.
To make many at once, use the ZIP option below the generator: paste one value per line or load a CSV and download PNG or SVG files named after each value.
Checking a UPC-E
Because the scanner turns a UPC-E back into a UPC-A, the number your retailer stores is the 12-digit form. When you enter seven digits, the tool shows the expanded UPC-A it represents; compare that with the number in your GS1 records. If it does not match, the number cannot be written as a UPC-E and you need the full UPC-A.
How this tool works
Barcodes are drawn in your browser with bwip-js, an open-source (MIT) port of Barcode Writer in Pure PostScript, and PDFs are written with pdf-lib. Nothing you type is uploaded, and the page works offline after the first visit. Single barcodes are free in every format with no watermark. Paid licences cover print-ready label sheets and large batches; see the box above.