ISBN Book Barcodes

Books require an ISBN Number (International Standard Book Number), which gets turned into a barcode image.

Do you have an ISBN Number?

NO – You’ll need to get an ISBN Number before we can provide you with the barcode images for it. To get an ISBN, you need to contact your local ISBN Agency. The contact details for all the ISBN Agencies worldwide can be found on the ISBN International website.

Sample ISBN Barcode:

Download Sample ISBN Barcode Images (zip file)

You will receive your ISBN barcode images (EAN-13 format) straight away by email (in 5 different files – jpeg, eps, tiff, BMP and pdf). You can choose which barcode file you prefer and insert the barcode picture into the design for your book’s cover before printing.

Price Code (Optional)

ISBN Numbers can also be encoded with 5 digit price codes (“EAN 5”) on the end of them – this is called EAN-13+5 format. These codes can encode a price of up to ‘99.99’ in GBP, USD or CAD only. E.g. to encode USD 9.99, the EAN 5 would be “50999”, These price codes will be picked up by some scanners and can make it easier for retailers to establish the recommended retail price for books. However, most scanners do not read this code at all. It is not common practice for ISBNs to have this price code.

If you wish to have a price code added for your ISBN, please indicate that you would like this (and what price and currency the price code should represent) in the ‘additional information’ section when you get to the Checkout page. If you want your barcode to have a price code, we’ll need to manually create the barcode for you (our website won’t automatically generate it). We’ll email it to you as soon as possible.

Price Codes:

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

ISBN Barcode Turnaround Time: Once you place your order, the ISBN barcode images will be automatically created and emailed to you straight away, in EAN-13 format. If you want your barcode to include a price code (EAN-13+5 format), we’ll need to manually create this and email it through to you (it usually takes us 12-24 hours).

If you have a magazine, you will need to see our ISSN Magazine barcode page.

If you have printed music, you’ll need to get an International Standard Music Number (ISMN) and then get that turned into barcode images. A 13-digit ISMN, e.g. 979-0-2600-0043-8, can be turned into a 13 digit EAN-13 barcode (the same way that book ISBNs are turned into barcodes). Please order “ISBN Barcode Images” (above) and enter your ISMN number (instead of an ISBN) into the text box before adding it to your cart.