A GTIN is the number printed under the barcode on a retail pack. It identifies the product itself, not the box in your hand, which is why every jar of the same honey carries the same one. You need one before you can make a GS1 code, and it is the one piece we cannot supply.
What the number actually means
GTIN stands for Global Trade Item Number. In the United States you will usually meet it as a UPC, a 12-digit number. In Europe it is often 13 digits and called an EAN. They are the same idea at different lengths, and a 12-digit number padded to 14 is still the same product.
The last digit is a check digit: it is calculated from the digits before it. If somebody mistypes the number, the check digit stops matching and a scanner refuses it. That is why our form checks it as you type rather than after you save.
A GTIN identifies a product, not an item. Two identical jars share a GTIN. If you need to tell one jar from another, that is a batch or a serial number, which goes in the code alongside the GTIN.
Where to get one
From GS1, and realistically only from GS1. They are the organization that issues them, and retailers verify against their register.
- One product: a single GS1 US GTIN is $30, paid once, with no renewal.
- Ten products: $250 to start and $50 a year.
- A hundred: $750 to start and $150 a year.
- A thousand: $2,500 to start and $500 a year.
Heads up. Barcodes resold cheaply by third-party sites are numbers originally licensed to somebody else. Major retailers check who owns a number, and a mismatch can get your product refused. If you intend to sell in a store, buy from GS1.
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