Barcode Generator
Code 128B: any ASCII character from space to tilde, no Chinese. Checksum and start/stop markers are added automatically. Bars sit on a 10-module quiet zone on both sides — keep that margin when printing, or scanners will fail to lock on.
About Barcode Generator
Type a string of letters and digits and the barcode appears below. This is Code 128B: ASCII from space to tilde, with the checksum, start and stop characters computed to spec.
Chinese will not encode here, and that is not a bug. Code 128B's character set is ASCII 32–126; Chinese needs a QR code.
Do not trim the white margin (the quiet zone). Ten modules of white space are left on each side because the scanner uses it to find where the barcode starts. Crop it, or place the code on a dark background, and scanning gets unreliable fast.
Mind the module width when printing. Three pixels per module is fine on screen, but at 96 dpi that is under a millimetre and many older scanners refuse it. For paper, export at 6 px, or scale the image up in Word/PDF — as long as you scale it evenly rather than resampling with blur.
Things that actually trip people up: Excel eats leading zeros (0012345 becomes 12345), so format the column as text first; spaces, - and . are all legal; the length is capped at 40 characters because beyond that the bars get too thin to read.
Everything is drawn on a canvas in the browser; nothing is uploaded. EAN-13/UPC are not offered — those are fixed-length numeric codes with different rules. For QR codes, use the QR generator.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I encode Chinese?
Code 128B only covers ASCII 32–126. Use a QR code for Chinese.
My scanner won't read it?
Check that the quiet zone is intact and the modules are not too thin. Export at 6 px, or scale the image up evenly before printing.
EAN-13 or UPC?
Not supported. Those are fixed-length numeric codes with different rules; this tool does Code 128B only.
Why did Excel drop my leading zeros?
Excel read 0012345 as a number. Format the cell as text first, then copy it in.
Can it make a QR code?
No, that is a different symbology. Use the QR generator.
Is my input uploaded?
No, it is drawn on a canvas in the browser.
