This page opens on ITF-14 with a case number built from GS1’s demonstration product 952-0123-45678-8: indicator digit 1, the first 12 digits of the product’s GTIN, and the case’s own check digit, which the page adds (…785). Top and bottom bearer bars are selected, the right choice for labels printed on thermal or laser printers, and PDF is ready for your carton artwork.
Building your case number
Take your product’s GTIN-13, drop its check digit, and put an indicator digit in front: 1 for your first case size, 2 for the next, and so on up to 8. Type those 13 digits and the page completes the GTIN-14. The table below does it for several indicators from the same product, so you can see how each case gets a different check digit. A UPC-A works the same way with a 0 added in front: indicator, 0, the first 11 UPC digits.
Printing on corrugated board
ITF-14 exists because it survives rough printing on brown cardboard. When the carton printer uses plates, choose the 4.83 mm frame under Bearer bars and a module width of at least 0.635 mm, the smallest GS1 advises for plates on corrugate: the frame evens out the plate pressure and stops a scanner from reading a partial scan as a shorter number. On white labels, 0.495 mm with top and bottom bars is enough. Keep the 31.75 mm bar height and the 10-module quiet zones inside the frame.
Placing it on the case
GS1 asks for the barcode on at least two adjacent sides of the carton, with the bottom of the bars about 32 mm above the base and the symbol at least 19 mm from any vertical edge, so a scanner on a conveyor or a handheld in the warehouse finds it from any angle.
Case codes from one product
The GS1 demonstration GTIN-13 9520123456788 with different indicator digits in front. Each is a different GTIN-14, with its own check digit.
| Indicator | GTIN-14 (ITF-14 data) |
|---|---|
| 0 (the product itself) | 09520123456788 |
| 1 | 19520123456785 |
| 2 | 29520123456782 |
| 3 | 39520123456789 |
| 8 | 89520123456784 |
Printed size at GS1’s module widths
| Module width (X) | Symbol with 4.83 mm bearer frame and text |
|---|---|
| 0.495 mm | 86.4 × 47.4 mm |
| 0.635 mm | 108.1 × 48.7 mm |
| 1.016 mm | 167.1 × 48.7 mm |