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ISBN generator

A book barcode: the ISBN written as EAN-13. Accepts ISBN-13 and converts ISBN-10.

Qreska does not issue ISBNs

ISBNs are issued by the national ISBN agency (in Poland: the ISBN office of the National Library). Qreska only draws the code from a number you already have.

Code settings

Enter an ISBN-13 or ISBN-10, with or without hyphens.

2 digits, e.g. a magazine issue number, or 5 digits, e.g. a book price. Leave empty if you do not need it.

The narrowest bar of the code. Recommended 0.264 to 0.66 mm.

From 3 to 300 mm.

Blank margin around the code required by the standard. Keep it on.

Appearance

The human readable digits or characters, set in OCR-B.

Height of a digit, from 1 to 30 mm.

Hexadecimal, for example #000000.

Fills the quiet zone too.

Preview

Size with quiet zone: 37.29 × 25.28 mm. The on-screen preview is enlarged.

Download the code

PNG file: 452 × 306 px, 307.9 DPI. Each module gets whole pixels and the DPI is set so the printout has exactly the size in mm shown above.

What is ISBN

The barcode on a book cover is an EAN-13 holding the ISBN-13, which starts with 978 or 979. Older 10-character ISBN-10 numbers are converted to ISBN-13 by adding 978 and calculating a new check digit.

A 5-digit price add-on can be placed next to the code. In Poland it is usually left out.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I get an ISBN?

ISBNs are issued by the national ISBN agency (in Poland: the ISBN office of the National Library). Qreska does not issue numbers; it only draws the code from a number you already have.

I have an old ISBN-10. What should I do?

Enter it in the field, with or without hyphens. The generator checks the ISBN-10 check digit and writes the number as an ISBN-13 with the 978 prefix.

Can an ISBN-10 end with the letter X?

Yes. X stands for the check digit 10. An ISBN-13 has no X, because its check digit is calculated differently.

What is the 5-digit add-on for?

In some countries it holds the suggested price, e.g. in the USA 51299 means USD 12.99 and 90000 means no price. If you are not sure you need it, leave the field empty.

Where should the code go on a book?

Usually on the back cover, in the bottom right corner, on a light background with a blank margin around the code.

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