ISBN and ISSN – Barcodes for Books and Magazines

The EAN-13 and UPC-A Barcodes we supply are not suited for printed publications such as books and Magazines. Books use the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) format.  ISBNs are numbers exclusively reserved by the ISBN agency for printed publications.  To apply for an ISBN for your book please visit https://nielsenbook.co.uk/isbn-agency/ Magazines, journals and newspapers use the International … Read more ISBN and ISSN – Barcodes for Books and Magazines

EAN-13 & UPC-A barcodes – which format to use on your products

We supply both the 13 digit superset EAN-13 (European Article Number) and 12 digit subset UPC-A (Universal Product Code) with every standard order.  Each format is numerically and visually identical and both are recognised by retail scanners globally.  Historically the UPC-A format is used in the United States and Canada (North America) while the rest … Read more EAN-13 & UPC-A barcodes – which format to use on your products

Using your barcodes on Amazon

Amazon’s barcode acceptance policies and its enforcement are subject to change.  We therefore cannot guarantee that the barcodes we supply will always be accepted by Amazon.  To be certain of Amazon’s latest requirements we recommended contacting Amazon directly. Amazon’s current stated policy prefers that sellers are members of GS1.  However Amazon’s enforcement of this varies with … Read more Using your barcodes on Amazon

Choosing the right Barcode Colours

Retail scanners use infrared light to read a barcode. This means that certain colour combinations are invisible to barcode scanners, even if they are discernible to the human eye. Some colour combinations work well and others don’t.  When deciding on a colour combination for your barcode first consider the following guidelines. – The vertical lines … Read more Choosing the right Barcode Colours

How to assign and register your barcodes

Barcodes cannot encode product information like price or size. Rather the unique number is simply used to quickly retrieve information about a product from a retailer’s database.    Similarly barcodes do not rely on a global database in order to work. The barcode is a very simple means of product identification. The vertical lines of … Read more How to assign and register your barcodes

Error Code 8541 | The SKU data provided is different from what’s already in the Amazon catalog

If you see this code then Amazon already has a listing that uses the barcode number you have entered. There are two reasons why this could happen: 1. You have already created a product listing with Amazon using this GTIN. If this is the case, please check your barcode assignments and take care not to … Read more Error Code 8541 | The SKU data provided is different from what’s already in the Amazon catalog

Error Code 8556 | Sorry, this product is ineligible for Amazon Marketplace selling at this time

This error indicated that Amazon has detected that the GTIN you are using is already listed on an existing item and is also in a category that you have not been approved to sell in. Please check that the GTIN you have entered and category is correct. The most frequent cause of this error message … Read more Error Code 8556 | Sorry, this product is ineligible for Amazon Marketplace selling at this time

Barcode Size Specifications (EAN-13 and UPC-A)

Barcode Bird supplies all images at GS1 standard size SC2 100% magnification (25.93mm x 37.29mm). In general, barcode retailers and GS1 do not recommend reducing the image size below 80% of the SC2 size. Barcode Bird can provide you with codes at a reduced size down to SC0 or 21.25mm x 30.51mm that are guaranteed … Read more Barcode Size Specifications (EAN-13 and UPC-A)