About ISSN
The ISSN identifies periodicals; the barcode is an EAN-13 with prefix 977 followed by the 7 ISSN digits and 2 variant digits (e.g. price change).
Data format
ISSN (8 chars with hyphen) + space + 2 variant digits.
Example: 0317-8471 00
ISBN Codes
ISBN, ISSN and ISMN identify books, periodicals and printed music. Technically they are EAN-13 barcodes with the prefixes 978/979 or 977, often extended by a 2- or 5-digit add-on for price or issue.
Frequently asked questions about ISSN
Is the ISSN generator really free?
Yes. You can create as many ISSN barcodes as you like and download them as PNG or SVG – no registration, no watermark, commercial use included.
What resolution does the ISSN barcode have?
PNG files are generated with adjustable module width and up to 600 DPI. For print we recommend the lossless SVG vector format which scales without any quality loss.
Is my data stored?
No. The barcode content is only processed to render the image and is not stored. We only count anonymously how often a barcode type is used.
Can I embed ISSN barcodes in my website or software?
Yes. Every barcode has a stable image URL (see “Embed HTML”) which you can use in websites, label software or spreadsheets.