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Code labels
A sheet of labels with sequential numbers as QR codes or barcodes: for inventory, storage locations, binder spines, tool boxes and office equipment.
For phones and all 2D scanners. Any content: a number, text or a link, so the phone opens the page right away.
For barcode scanners at the checkout and in the warehouse. Letters without accents or umlauts, digits and the usual punctuation, up to 80 characters. The shorter, the more reliably the scanner reads it.
Only for 12 or 13 digit numbers (retail goods). The 13th digit is the check digit and is calculated for you. Globally valid numbers are assigned by GS1, not by this tool.
{n} is the placeholder for the number. Without {n} the number is added at the end.
Blank lines and spaces at the ends are dropped. At most 2,000 entries per run.
Copies sit next to each other. That is handy when one label goes on the device and one in the file. They count toward the 2,000 labels per run: with two copies that makes 1,000 numbers.
Appears on every label under the number, e.g. company, department or room.
The grids in order: 3 × 8, 3 × 7, 4 × 10, 4 × 11, 5 × 13 and 4 × 6 labels. These are common A4 sheets as sold in Germany and the rest of Europe; Letter size sheets from North America are not on the list. The sizes are printed on the pack. For the round sheet and the 44 sheet, manufacturers set the margins differently: make a test print first, and if it is off, use “Custom grid”.
Margin = distance from the edge of the paper to the first label. You find the values on the manufacturer’s site under “template”, or you measure the sheet.
Positions count row by row from the top left. Labels already peeled off stay empty this way.
The preview appears as soon as there is something to print.
In the print dialog choose “Actual size” or “100%”, not “Fit to page”, otherwise the grid shifts.
Just a single code? Create a barcode · Create a QR code
Your numbers and texts stay on this device. The PDF is created in your browser.
How it works
- 01Choose the type: QR code for phones and 2D scanners, Code 128 for barcode scanners, EAN-13 only for retail numbers.
- 02Set the numbers: sequential with a pattern like “STOCK-{n}”, or a list, one entry per line. Add the plain text and a second line if you like.
- 03Choose the sheet, check the preview, create the PDF. Print on plain paper first and hold it against the label sheet, then print on the labels.
Size and quiet zone. Every code needs an empty area around it, the quiet zone: four modules all around for a QR code, ten modules left and right for a barcode (EAN: eleven and seven). Without it the scanner does not find the code. On top of that there is a safety margin of 1.5 mm to the edge of the label, because printers shift by about a millimeter. The code size follows from the space that is left: a QR code should be at least 15 mm, the narrowest bar of a Code 128 at least 0.25 mm wide. If the tool ends up below that, it says so under the preview. And if there is no room left for the code next to the text, it prints nothing and tells you. On the 65 sheet (38.1 × 21.2 mm) a QR code therefore always ends up small: for QR better take 70 × 36, for barcodes it is enough.
All codes on a sheet are the same size. The size is calculated for the largest content; shorter codes sit in the center. Sequential numbers of the same length give a calm look this way. For QR codes the tool picks the most compact mode: digits only need the least space, capital letters with digits and a hyphen (“STOCK-0001”) fit into 21 × 21 modules, lowercase letters and umlauts need more.
What gets printed. The PDF is A4 portrait, codes as vector graphics (sharp at any resolution), text in the Helvetica font. Umlauts, ß and € work; characters from other scripts or emojis are not in this font and appear as question marks. They are still inside the QR code itself. If the plain text gets too long for the label, the tool reduces the font down to 5 pt and then shortens it with “…”. The digits under an EAN-13 are printed as a simple line, not in the standard layout with extended guard bars.
Limits. At most 2,000 labels per run, copies included; with more, the tool tells you how far it got, and you start the next run at the next number. EAN-13 needs exactly 12 or 13 digits; if the 13th is wrong, it names the correct one. Other barcodes (Code 39, GS1-128, DataMatrix), labels on rolls, logos on the label and reading codes are not available here. Only A4 sheets: the grids match the common sheets in Germany and Europe, but every manufacturer sets the margins a little differently. That is what the test print with “Print outlines” is for, and if it does not fit, “Custom grid” with the sizes from the pack.