ISBN Book Barcodes

A book barcode is your ISBN turned into a scannable image for the back cover. Books have their own numbering system — an ISBN, or International Standard Book Number — rather than the EAN or UPC numbers used on general retail products, so a retail barcode package won’t work on a book.

We supply the book barcode images for an ISBN you already hold. The finished barcode is in EAN-13 format, the standard for books worldwide, and scans at every major bookseller and distributor.

Getting your book barcode: do you have an ISBN?

Yes — order your barcode images below. You’ll enter your ISBN at the checkout page, and the images will be generated and emailed to you straight away.

No — you’ll need an ISBN before we can create your barcode. ISBNs are issued by a designated agency in each country; find yours through the ISBN International agency directory. In some countries they’re free; in others, there’s a fee. If you’re in the UK or Ireland, our sister company, the Independent Publishing Network, issues them.

Note: We do not issue ISBNs. Only the national ISBN agency for your country can do that. We provide the barcode image that encodes the number you’ve been given.

Download Sample ISBN Barcode Images (zip file)

Do I need a book barcode or a retail barcode?

The rule of thumb is simple, and it depends on the product rather than where you’re selling it.

Books — printed books, ebooks sold in retail channels, audiobooks. These need an ISBN, which is encoded as an EAN-13 barcode. Order from this page.

Magazines and periodicals — anything published on a repeating schedule needs an ISSN rather than an ISBN. See our magazine barcode page.

Printed music — sheet music and scores use an International Standard Music Number (ISMN). A 13-digit ISMN, such as 979-0-2600-0043-8, is converted to an EAN-13 barcode in exactly the same way as a book ISBN. Order the ISBN barcode images above and enter your ISMN in place of an ISBN.

Everything else — general retail products — needs an EAN or UPC number, which we supply as a complete package, including the number itself. See Retail Barcode Packages.

Using your book barcode

You will receive your barcode images by email in three files (PDF, PNG and SVG). Choose whichever format suits your designer or printer and place the image on your back cover before printing.

The images are supplied at the standard barcode size of about 38 mm x 25 mm. You can reduce this if space is tight. Don’t go below 80% of standard size, roughly 30 mm x 20 mm, or scanners may struggle. See our barcode dimensions guide before resizing.

Place the barcode in the lower-right corner of the back cover, on a plain white or very light background, with clear space around it. Avoid printing it over artwork, and avoid red or light-coloured bars — scanners read the contrast between the bars and the background, not the colour itself.

Your ISBN barcode encodes only the ISBN. Retailers and libraries look the title up against that number in their own systems, so no title or price information needs to be built into the barcode itself.

Adding a price code (optional)

An ISBN barcode can carry a second, smaller five-digit barcode alongside it that encodes a recommended retail price. This is called an EAN-13+5 format.

The first digit identifies the currency and the remaining four give the price, up to 99.99:

0 (or 1) = GBP 3 = AUD 4 = NZD 5 = USD 6 = CAD

For example, a price of $9.99 USD would be encoded as 50999.

Do you need one? Usually not. Most scanners ignore the price code entirely, and it isn’t standard practice for trade books in most markets. It’s mainly useful if a specific retailer or distributor has asked you for it. Because the price is locked into the artwork, you’d also need a new barcode if your price changes — and it fixes you to a single currency, which is a real drawback if you’re selling the same edition in more than one country.

If you do want one, say so in the additional information section at checkout and tell us the price and currency. Price-coded barcodes are made by hand rather than generated automatically, so they take a little longer to reach you.

Turnaround time

Standard ISBN barcode (EAN-13): created automatically and emailed to you as soon as your payment goes through.

ISBN barcode with price code (EAN-13+5): made manually by our team and emailed within 12–24 hours.

Need help?

Here are some common questions:

How many barcodes do I need? One per ISBN. Each edition and format gets its own ISBN. Hardback, paperback, large print and each ebook format are all separate, and each needs its own barcode. A straight reprint of the same edition retains the same ISBN and barcode.

Do I need a new barcode if I change the price? Only if your barcode includes a price code. A standard ISBN barcode carries no price information, so you can change the price as often as you like without touching the artwork.

Will these barcodes work worldwide? Yes. ISBN barcodes are in EAN-13 format, the international standard for books, and are read by booksellers, distributors and libraries everywhere.

What if my ISBN is only 10 digits? Older ISBNs were 10-digit and need to be converted to 13-digit before they can be encoded. Get in touch, and we’ll convert it for you.

Can I get a barcode for an ebook? If your ebook has an ISBN and you need a barcode for it, yes. That said, most ebook retailers work from the ISBN alone and never need a printed barcode.

What about an author or publisher logo in the barcode? The barcode itself must stay clean and unaltered, but there’s nothing stopping you from placing your logo nearby on the cover. Don’t overlap it.

Don’t see what you’re looking for? Please take a look at our answers to common questions, or read more about obtaining an ISBN barcode for your book.

ISBN Barcode Image

4.8 Stars - Based on 1215 User Reviews