How to Create a Book Barcode

When publishing a book you must create a barcode for the back cover so bookstores can scan it at the counter when a customer buys it. The are many different barcode systems around all for different products and purposes. It is important to have the correct type of barcode with the correct information encrypted otherwise you could end up with an unsellable book.

Above is the standard book barcode format. It is created using the ISBN which is also needed to publish a book. See my article How to get an ISBN. The ISBN forms the bars which are read by the barcode machine identifying the book. The smaller barcode on the right is encrypted with the price which allows you to set a price for all retailers to sell your book for.

There are many ways to get a barcode. Some online self publishing sites will provide you with one when you publish with them for example CreateSpace provide barcodes. However if you are doing the printing yourself then you will need to create one yourself. Many of the ISBN distributors can also sell you a barcode with your number however this will cost you. The best option I found was http://www.tux.org/ where you can create a barcode for free and download it in either .pdf or .eps format. It also lets you set the price for the price barcode to the right.

Book barcodes are created in EAN-13 format. It is important to get this right as bookstores barcode machines will not necessarily read other barcodes. Make sure you test your barcode before printing your books. Simply print it out on paper and go to your local bookstore and get them to test it on their barcode scanner. This is also a good idea with the test print of the final book as this will make sure the print quality is correct and the stock is suitable. Barcodes are a very important part of your book, without them you can't really sell it. Make sure they are correct before you go to print.

Allow a lot of space around the barcode especially against the spine. The barcode must sit in the bottom right corner of the back cover. Use black on a white background if you don’t know what you’re doing. Barcode readers will only pick up certain colours.

How to Get an ISBN Number

From my understanding every book published in any format needs an ISBN number. An ISBN number is an International Standard Book Number. It's a unique numeric commercial book identifier based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering code. Each part of the number represents a different piece of publishing information i.e.: group, publisher, title and check digit. This system allows every book published to be easily found and accessed. With this number a barcode is supplied allowing your book to be sold through retail. There are different ways to get an ISBN.

If you are published by a publishing company they will take care of the ISBN for you.

If you are self publishing a lot of self publishing companies give you a free ISBN number. However any ISBN you receive without paying the normal rate of $50-$250 usually is registered with the companies name under publisher. i.e. if you receive one through publishing with CreateSpace.  It will be registered through them. I don’t think this limits your possibilities in any way and I don’t know what CreateSpace gain by having lots of books registered with them. I think maybe they just do it as a marketing ploy to get more people to publish with them. It works for me, I would rather go with a publisher who offers me a free one than go through the process of buying one myself.

If you are printing books on your own without any kind of publishing service you will need to purchase one. The site that seems to be recommended everywhere is www.isbn.org however I think you may have to buy them in bulk as it is aimed at publishers who buy them in sets of ten.

It is recommended to have a different ISBN for each format you publish your book in. So if you publish your book as both an eBook and print book each should have their own ISBN.