The standard size of both EAN-13 and UPC-A barcodes for retail consumer goods is 25.93mm x 37.29mm (100% magnification SC0). These dimensions are optimal for retail scanning environments and significantly reduce the chance of scanning errors. Included in these dimensions is the while space on either side of the barcode known as the “quiet zones”. The left quiet zone is 3.63mm and the right quite zone is 2.31mm. Quiet zones are a critical part of the barcode that essentially tells a scanner where the barcode begins and ends. Barcodes with quiet zones removed do not scan.
All standard EAN-13 and UPC-A orders available at India Barcodes are delivered at 100% Magnification in three digital image formats (EPS, JPEG and TIFF).
Re-sizing your barcodes.
GS1 guidelines advise printing barcodes within the 80% – 200% Magnification range. If your product packaging can accommodate it we recommend following this guideline. Barcodes can be further re-sized to suit packaging space limitations but there are some considerations to take into account.
– Barcodes sized below 80% Magnification will not pass a barcode verification report required by some larger retailers.
– Barcodes sized too small or in combination with low print resolution may fail to scan.
– The EPS image file we supply offers the best flexibility for re-sizing as the image quality is not affected by rescaling.
Re-sizing of the supplied barcode images can be achieved by using photo editing software such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. The barcode image/layer can be selected whole and re-scaled to the required size e.g. to meet the recommended minimum 80% Magnification the barcode image/layer can be scaled to 80% of its original size, or 82% to be on the safe side (to counter print bleed or minor printing inaccuracy). We recommend using the 2450 DPI EPS version for re-sizing to avoid loss of image quality.
Truncating a Barcode
Truncation is a method of re-sizing a barcode by removing a portion from the top of the barcode. This method gives the barcode are more rectangular appearance. For example a barcode at 100% magnification can be truncated (cut across the top) so the bar height meets the 80% minimum above 18.28mm. Truncation is preferred to altering dimensions by dragging the edges around which can affect the barcode proportions.
Some products like pens and pencils will have a heavily truncated barcode printed on them. While they can scan at P.O.S. tiny barcodes like this will not pass barcode verification. Product owners should be aware that in some cases retailers may reject products with smaller barcodes while other retailers will still accept them.
Magnification Table
| Magnification | Bar Width (mm) | Bar Height (mm) | L Quiet Zone (mm) | R Quiet Zone (mm) |
| 80% (SC0) | 20.08 | 18.28 | 2.90 | 1.85 |
| 85% | 26.65 | 19.42 | 3.09 | 1.96 |
| 90% (SC1) | 28.22 | 20.57 | 3.27 | 2.08 |
| 95% | 29.78 | 21.71 | 3.45 | 2.19 |
| 100% (SC2) | 31.35 | 22.85 | 3.63 | 2.31 |
| 105% | 32.92 | 23.99 | 3.81 | 2.43 |
| 110% (SC3) | 34.49 | 25.14 | 3.99 | 2.54 |
| 115% | 36.05 | 26.28 | 4.17 | 2.66 |
| 120% (SC4) | 37.62 | 27.42 | 4.36 | 2.77 |
| 125% | 39.19 | 28.56 | 4.54 | 2.89 |
| 130% | 40.76 | 29.71 | 4.72 | 3.00 |
| 135% (SC5) | 42.32 | 30.85 | 4.90 | 3.12 |
| 140% | 43.89 | 31.99 | 5.08 | 3.23 |
| 145% | 45.46 | 33.13 | 5.26 | 3.35 |
| 150% (SC6) | 47.03 | 34.28 | 5.45 | 3.47 |
| 155 | 48.59 | 35.42 | 5.63 | 3.58 |
| 160% | 50.16 | 36.56 | 5.81 | 3.70 |
| 165% (SC7) | 51.73 | 37.70 | 5.99 | 3.81 |
| 170% | 53.30 | 38.85 | 6.17 | 3.93 |
| 175% | 54.86 | 39.99 | 6.35 | 4.04 |
| 180% | 56.43 | 41.13 | 6.53 | 4.16 |
| 185% (SC8) | 58.00 | 42.27 | 6.72 | 4.27 |
| 190% | 59.57 | 43.42 | 6.90 | 4.39 |
| 195% | 61.13 | 44.56 | 7.08 | 4.50 |
| 200% (SC9) | 62.70 | 45.70 | 7.26 | 4.62 |