- Barcode Batch
- ISBN barcodes
ISBN barcode generator
Paste a list of ISBNs and get a barcode for each book, ready for a sheet of labels or a label printer. Old 10-digit ISBNs are turned into their 13-digit form for you.
How a book barcode works
The barcode on a book is an EAN-13 that holds the book’s 13-digit ISBN. Every ISBN-13 starts with 978 or 979, so the scanner at a till reads it like any other product number.
Old 10-digit ISBNs
Books from before 2007 often show a 10-digit ISBN. To make its barcode, the tool puts 978 in front of the first nine digits and works out a new check digit. An ISBN-10 can end in X, which stands for 10.
0-306-40615-2 becomes 978030640615, and its check digit makes 9780306406157.
For bookshops and libraries
Label second-hand books that have no barcode, print labels for a stock count, or add a scannable code to books from small publishers. Paste the ISBN and the title on each line, and the title prints at the top of each label.
What it does not do
It does not issue ISBNs. A publisher gets them from the ISBN agency in its country. It also does not add the small five-digit price code printed beside the barcode on some books in the US.
Questions
Can I paste ISBNs with hyphens?
Yes. Hyphens and spaces are removed, and a word ISBN at the start is ignored.
What if a check digit is wrong?
That row is marked and explained, such as "The ISBN-10 check digit should be 2, not 3", and you can fix it in place. The other rows still work.
Is a book barcode the same as an EAN-13?
Yes. It is an EAN-13 that holds the ISBN. Choosing ISBN adds the ISBN-10 conversion and checks that the number starts with 978 or 979.
Sources
Checked on .