GTIN
Colloquially, many know GTIN as a barcode, but technically, GTIN is the number found beneath the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
Colloquially, many know GTIN as a barcode, but technically, GTIN is the number found beneath the barcode symbol itself, and can therefore also be used for other technologies such as 2D barcodes and RFID tags.
GTINs are used to identify retail units, cases, and pallets. To assign GTIN-13 numbers to your products, you need to subscribe to a GS1 Company Prefix. If additional information beyond identification is required, the GS1-128 standard is used.
GS1 is the only authorized provider of GTIN barcode numbers and GLN location numbers. You can purchase them in our webshop.
You need a GTIN to create a GS1 barcode. The most commonly used GTIN is GTIN-13, which consists of 13 digits and can be represented in an EAN barcode symbol.
Below you can see what to do once you have received your GS1 Company Prefix (between 7 and 11 digits) from GS1 Denmark and need to convert it into barcodes.
First, you need to create the GTIN product numbers that the barcode will contain:
With 7 digits, you can create 100,000 GTIN product numbers
With 8 digits, you can create 10,000 GTIN product numbers
With 9 digits, you can create 1,000 GTIN product numbers
With 10 digits, you can create 100 GTIN product numbers
With 11 digits, you can create 10 GTIN product numbers
GS1 Company Prefix: The number you have received from GS1 Denmark
Product reference number: The number you assign to your products
Check digit: It is essential that the check digit is calculated correctly. Calculate your check digit.
From the 7 digits you received, form the GTINs of 13 digits as in the example below:
From the 8 digits you received, form the GTINs of 13 digits as in the example below:
From the 9 digits you received, form the GTINs of 13 digits as in the example below:
From the 10 digits you received, form 13-digit GTINs as in the example below:
From the 11 digits you received, form the GTINs of 13 digits as in the example below:
We recommend assigning the numbers consecutively, meaning the reference number of the first product is 00000, the next is 00001, and so on up to 99999. This ensures optimal use of the numbering capacity within the 13 digits.
Many companies have internal part numbers that exceed the 5 digits available in the GTIN reference number. It is therefore recommended to establish a 1:1 relationship between internal part numbers and GTIN reference numbers.
We advise against embedding meaning in the digits of the item number — for example, using the first two digits to indicate “material type,” the next two for “color,” and the last digit for “model.”
Your pasta screws went out of production 5 years ago. In return, you have invented something new: Pasta nuts, and of course they must have an item number and a barcode. But are you allowed to reuse the GTIN part number of the pasta screws, i.e. the number found in the barcode?
No you must never reuse a GTIN.
Why are you not allowed to reuse a GTIN?
Risk of dangerous confusions
For several years, it has been forbidden to reuse identification numbers for products used in the healthcare sector.
The reason is, among other things, that the identification numbers in patient records should not be misunderstood: if it says that a drug with a certain ID number was used for a specific patient in 2010, then that number should never be able to refer to other medicines, even if it is 20 years or more.
It now applies to all product types.
The key to your product
In our digital world, correct information about products is paramount for both trading partners and consumers. The GTIN part number is a key to databases that hold important information about a product — so the key must reveal the right information, images, etc.
If you have additional or other questions about our standards and services, you may find the answers below. You are, of course, always welcome to contact us directly.
