Home › UPC Barcode Generator
Free UPC Barcode Generator — Retail, Amazon & Shopify
Last updated: March 2026
UPC-A (Universal Product Code) is the standard barcode format for retail products sold in North America. Every product on a grocery shelf, pharmacy rack, or big-box store display carries a UPC-A barcode. BatchPrintGTIN generates UPC-A barcode images free — enter your 12-digit GTIN, download as PNG or SVG, and use the image on any packaging, label, or listing.
What is a UPC-A Barcode?
A UPC-A barcode encodes a 12-digit number called a GTIN-12 (Global Trade Item Number). The barcode consists of 30 black bars and 29 spaces of varying widths, flanked by a left guard bar, a centre guard bar, and a right guard bar. Point-of-sale scanners read the bar pattern and decode the 12-digit number, which the retailer's system then looks up in their product database to retrieve the product name and price.
The final digit of a UPC-A number is a check digit — calculated from the preceding 11 digits — that allows scanners to detect read errors. BatchPrintGTIN calculates the check digit automatically when you enter an 11-digit number.
UPC Barcodes for Amazon Sellers
Amazon requires a valid GTIN — typically a UPC-A or EAN-13 — for most product listings in its catalogue. When creating a new product listing, Amazon validates the GTIN against the GS1 database. This means Amazon sellers must use GS1-registered numbers, not third-party resellers or generated numbers. Once you have your GS1-registered GTIN, BatchPrintGTIN generates the barcode image for your product labels and packaging. See the Amazon FBA Barcode Generator page for full details on FBA labelling requirements.
UPC Barcodes for Shopify
Shopify uses UPC barcodes in the Barcode field of each product variant. Enter your 12-digit UPC into the Barcode field when creating or editing a product. The barcode is used for inventory scanning with a Shopify-compatible barcode scanner, for syncing product data to Google Merchant Center and Facebook Shopping, and for generating pick tickets and packing slips. Generate your barcode image on BatchPrintGTIN and keep the number for entry into Shopify. See the Shopify Barcode Generator page for the full workflow.
UPC Barcodes for Retail and Grocery
Traditional retail channels — grocery stores, pharmacies, mass merchandise retailers, and convenience stores — all require GS1-registered UPC-A barcodes for products sold through their systems. Many retailers scan incoming shipments to verify barcodes before accepting inventory. The barcode on your product packaging must match the GTIN in the retailer's item database exactly.
For retail use, always print barcodes at a minimum of 80% of GS1 nominal size (approximately 30mm wide) and include clear quiet zones on both sides. Test with a retail-grade scanner before committing to a packaging print run.
UPC vs EAN-13 — Which Do You Need?
UPC-A is a 12-digit format used primarily in North America. EAN-13 is a 13-digit format used internationally. A UPC-A barcode is actually a subset of EAN-13 — any EAN-13 scanner can read a UPC-A barcode by treating it as an EAN-13 with a leading zero. If you sell internationally, generate EAN-13 barcodes. If you sell only in North America, UPC-A is sufficient. See the full EAN vs UPC comparison for more detail.
Customising Your UPC Barcode
The BatchPrintGTIN generator supports several display options for UPC-A barcodes. You can adjust the bar width (scale), the height of the bars, whether the human-readable number is shown below the bars, the font size of the number, and whether flat mode is used (flat mode removes the extended guard bars for a cleaner minimal appearance while remaining fully scannable).
Bar colour and background colour are configurable — useful for brand-matching when placing barcodes on coloured packaging. The rule is that bars must always be darker than the background to maintain scanner readability.
Batch UPC Barcode Generation
For product catalogues with multiple SKUs, the batch generator accepts a CSV file of GTIN numbers and generates all barcode images simultaneously. Download as a ZIP archive of individual PNG files or a print-ready PDF. An apparel brand with 200 SKUs (10 products × 4 sizes × 5 colours) can generate all 200 barcodes in under a minute.
Printing Your Generated UPC Barcodes
Once you have the barcode image, the most common next question is which label format to print it on. Two DYMO formats come up most often for UPC use:
DYMO LabelWriter 30336 — 1" × 2⅛" multi-purpose barcode labels
The standard DYMO format for UPC barcode labels. Wide enough to hold the full 1.46-inch minimum width of a UPC-A barcode at compliant DPI, with room for the product name or SKU above the code. Most small product sellers running a DYMO LabelWriter 550 keep a roll of these loaded permanently. The 500-label roll lasts longer than you'd expect for everyday product labelling.
UPC-A width compliantDYMO LabelWriter compatible500 per rollView on Amazon
DYMO LabelWriter 30373 — price tag labels with hang hole
For products on retail hooks or clothing hangers, the 30373 price tag label with the perforated string hole is the format that works. Print the UPC barcode directly, tear along the perforation, and hang on any standard display peg. Particularly useful for jewellery, accessories, and small packaged goods that go on retail pegboard hooks.
Pre-punched hang holeRetail pegboard useDYMO compatibleView on Amazon
Label Stock for Printing UPC Barcodes
Generating the barcode file is one step — printing it on the right label stock is the other. UPC barcodes have minimum size requirements (see the sizing notes earlier on this page), and the label needs to be large enough to hold a readable barcode plus any required text below it. Two DYMO label sizes that work well for standard retail product labelling:
DYMO 30336 multi-purpose barcode labels — 1"×2⅛", 500 per roll
The most commonly used DYMO label for UPC barcode printing. 1"×2⅛" fits most retail product packaging without wrapping around edges. Permanent adhesive, white matte finish. Compatible with LabelWriter 550 and all current DYMO desktop models.
Standard UPC label size500 per rollPermanent adhesiveView on Amazon
DYMO 30373 price tag labels — for peg-hung and retail pricing
Die-cut format for products that need a price tag rather than a flat shelf label. Works with the same LabelWriter printer as 30336. Useful for boutique retail and market stall products where the UPC and price appear on the same tag.
Price tag formatLabelWriter compatibleRetail readyView on Amazon
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a UPC barcode I bought from a third-party reseller?
Many third-party resellers sell UPC numbers that were originally issued by GS1 to another company. Amazon and several major retailers have tightened their requirements to only accept GTINs that verify back to the brand owner in the GS1 database. For full retail compliance, obtain your numbers directly from GS1 US or GS1 Canada.
How many UPC barcodes do I need?
Each unique product configuration — including every size and colour variant — requires its own unique GTIN. A single product with three sizes and four colours requires 12 separate GTINs.
What file format should I download for packaging?
SVG is recommended for professional packaging production — it is a vector format that scales to any size without pixelation. For web listings and basic label printing, PNG at high resolution is sufficient.
Generate a UPC Barcode Free