Opo Codes

GS1 Digital Link QR code generator

A GS1 Digital Link QR code is an ordinary web address that carries a product number, so a customer's phone can open your page and a shop system can read the number. Opo Codes builds it from your product number and your web address for free in your browser, together with the matching shop barcode and a GS1 DataMatrix.

Open the generatorFree. Runs in your browser.

How to do it

  1. Open the pack tool and type your product number (GTIN) of 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits.
  2. Choose where the web code should go: your own website, or the GS1 resolver.
  3. Add a batch or lot and a best-before date if you want them in the code.
  4. Check that all three codes are verified, then download the print sheet as PDF or each code on its own.

What the link looks like

The address is made of your website, then /01/ and the product number padded to 14 digits with zeros in front, then optional parts: /10/ and a batch, and ?17= with an expiry date written as year, month and day with two digits each.

Worked example: product number 234567890129, which has 12 digits, on the site shop.example.com, with batch LOT7. The number is padded to 00234567890129, so the code holds https://shop.example.com/01/00234567890129/10/LOT7. A batch is up to 20 letters and digits, with no spaces or brackets.

Your domain or the GS1 resolver

With your own website, customers land on the address you type, so use a site you will keep. A printed pack outlives a plan, so never use an address you do not own. With the GS1 resolver the code points to id.gs1.org, which sends people on to the page registered for the number at GS1.

The tool checks the format of your product number and its check digit, and offers to add or change the last digit. It does not check that you hold the number. Numbers you sell with come from GS1, and a number starting with 2 is for one shop's own use.

The same tool makes the rest of the pack

The pack tool also draws the shop barcode for the number (EAN-8, UPC-A, EAN-13 or ITF-14, by length) and a GS1 DataMatrix that carries the same data in the other GS1 form. Each of the three codes is read back by a test scanner. The QR generator also has a GS1 link type with a serial number field, if you need one code only.

Questions

Is a Digital Link QR code the same as an ordinary QR code?

It is an ordinary QR code that holds a web address in the GS1 form with the product number in it. Any phone camera reads it. A shop system can also pick the number out of it.

Does Opo Codes check the size for the shop?

No. The starting sizes are not a compliance check. Check every size against the GS1 General Specifications for your product and print method before you print.

Can I change where the code points later?

If the code points to your own website, you can change what that page shows. The address inside the printed code stays fixed.

Does it work offline?

Once the tool has been opened one time, yes.

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