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- 100+ barcode & QR symbologies
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Free Online Barcode & QR Code Generator
Encode a GTIN and other GS1 data as a real, clickable web link so one QR code works at checkout and in a browser.
Open the generator ↓Turn a CSV — or a numbered sequence — into hundreds of barcodes at once, exported as a ZIP of images or a print-ready PDF sheet. Launching with Pro.
The browser generator stays free forever. Paid plans are for teams who need bulk output and developers who need the REST API at scale — commercial license included. Tell us what you'd use; early-list members get first access and launch pricing.
What you're using right now
For designers & teams
Priced by requests. Commercial license and self-serve keys included; usage dashboard at launch.
GS1 Digital Link is a GS1 standard that expresses GS1 identifiers — like a GTIN, batch number, or serial number — as a structured web URL instead of the traditional bracketed Application Identifier string. A GS1 Digital Link QR code is simply a standard QR code (ISO/IEC 18004) carrying that URL as its payload, so any phone camera resolves it as a normal web link while GS1-aware systems can also parse the embedded identifiers directly from the URL path and query string. A gs1 digital link qr code generator handles both jobs at once: assembling a valid GS1 identifier and formatting it as a resolvable URL.
A Digital Link URL follows a defined path pattern, typically https://domain/01/{GTIN}/10/{batch}/17/{expiry}, where the numbers in the path (01, 10, 17) are the same GS1 Application Identifiers used in classic GS1 barcodes, just written as URL path segments instead of parenthesized codes. Optional data can be appended as query parameters, and the standard also defines conventions for compressed representations in some implementations to keep the resulting URL shorter. This dual nature is the whole point: a consumer's phone opens a normal webpage (often a product page or authentication portal), while a warehouse or retail scanner extracts the GTIN, batch, and expiry the same way it would from a GS1-128 or GS1 DataMatrix barcode.
The physical QR symbol itself uses the same finder patterns, alignment pattern, and Reed-Solomon error correction as any other QR code — only the payload content differs from a plain-text or GS1 AI-string QR code. Because the payload is a genuine URL, it also works seamlessly with existing web infrastructure like redirects, analytics tracking, and content negotiation based on who's scanning.
At minimum, a GS1 Digital Link QR code encodes a resolvable domain plus a GTIN; most real-world uses add batch/lot, expiration date, or serial number as additional path segments for full traceability. Because the payload is a URL, it inherits standard QR code capacity limits (up to several thousand alphanumeric characters at the largest symbol versions) and the same four error correction levels — L, M, Q, and H — letting you trade data density for damage tolerance depending on where the label will be printed and scanned. Longer URLs with many identifiers push the symbol toward a higher version (larger module count), so keeping the domain short and limiting path segments to what's actually needed helps keep the printed code compact.
Brand owners rolling out GS1's Sunrise 2027 2D-at-checkout transition use Digital Link so the same code that scans at the register also opens a consumer-facing product page. Pharmaceutical and food packaging use it to combine regulatory traceability data with links to safety information, recall notices, or authenticity verification. Retailers and CPG brands adopt it for "smart packaging" campaigns where scanning the code opens marketing content, sustainability information, or loyalty program links, all while the same code satisfies supply-chain data requirements. Apparel and consumer electronics brands have also used Digital Link to link a single serialized code to warranty registration, repair instructions, and resale/authentication history over the product's lifetime.
Select GS1 Digital Link QR Code from the symbology list and use the built-in Digital Link builder to enter your resolver domain, GTIN, and any additional identifiers (batch, expiry, serial); Barcode Mint assembles the correctly formatted URL path for you. From there you can:
/barcode?type=gs1dlqrcode&data=https://example.com/01/09501234567890/10/LOT42A — to automate label generation from your product databaseBecause a Digital Link code must resolve as both a working URL and a parseable GS1 identifier, verify the resolver domain is live and correctly routes before mass production — a broken link undermines both the marketing and traceability functions of the code. Maintain the standard quiet zone of at least four modules, use error correction level M or higher for retail and packaging environments with variable print quality, and keep enough contrast between foreground and background for reliable checkout scanning. Test the code with both a generic phone camera (to confirm the webpage opens correctly) and a GS1-aware scanner (to confirm the AI data parses) before finalizing packaging artwork. Plan for long-term URL stability too: because the code is printed on physical goods that may sit on shelves or in use for years, the resolver domain and routing logic need to keep working long after the print run ships.
The core difference between GS1 Digital Link QR code and a plain GS1 QR code is the payload format: Digital Link encodes a real, clickable URL, while classic GS1 QR encodes a bracketed Application Identifier string that only GS1-aware software understands. A plain URL QR code (with no embedded GS1 structure) can look similar to a Digital Link code at a glance, but it carries no standardized identifiers a supply-chain scanner can extract, so it can't double as a point-of-sale or traceability code. Compared to GS1 DataMatrix, which is often chosen for its smaller footprint on tiny packaging, GS1 Digital Link QR code is generally preferred wherever a consumer-facing link matters, since QR's finder pattern and camera-app familiarity make it more approachable to shoppers scanning with an ordinary phone. In practice, brands pick Digital Link over classic GS1 QR whenever the packaging needs to serve both compliance scanning and a marketing or informational destination from one code.