Generating Custom Barcodes in Python: A Step-by-Step Guide

Barcodes are essential for inventory management, retail, and product tracking. In this blog post, we'll explore how to generate custom EAN-13 barcodes in Python using the barcode library.

Why Use Python for Barcode Generation?

Python provides simple yet powerful libraries to generate barcodes programmatically. This is useful for:

• Automated product labeling
• Inventory management systems
• Retail and e-commerce applications

Step 1: Install Required Libraries

First, install the python-barcode and pillow (for image handling) libraries:

pip install python-barcode pillow

Step 2: Generate a Random Barcode Number

EAN-13 barcodes require a 12-digit number (the 13th digit is a checksum). We can generate a random unique code:

import random

 

def generate_unique_code():

    return ''.join([str(random.randint(0, 9)) for _ in range(12)])

Step 3: Define Products and Their Barcodes

Store product names and their corresponding barcode numbers in a dictionary:

products = {

    "Product 1": generate_unique_code(),

    "Product 2": generate_unique_code()

}

Step 4: Configure Barcode Appearance

Customize barcode appearance for better readability:

writer_options = {

    "module_width": 0.4,         # Thicker bars 

    "module_height": 25.0,       # Taller bars 

    "font_size": 12,             # Larger text 

    "text_distance": 5.0,        # Space between barcode and text 

    "quiet_zone": 10.0,          # Margin around the barcode 

    "write_text": True           # Display the number below 

}

Step 5: Generate and Save Barcodes

Use the EAN13 format to generate and save barcodes as PNG files:

EAN13 = barcode.get_barcode_class('ean13')

 

for product_name, code in products.items():

    filename = product_name.lower().replace(" ", "_")

    barcode_obj = EAN13(code, writer=ImageWriter())

    output_path = barcode_obj.save(filename, options=writer_options)

    print(f"✅ Barcode for {product_name} saved as {output_path}.png")

Expected Output

Running the script will generate PNG files for each product:

✅ Barcode for Product 1 saved as product_1.png 

✅ Barcode for Product 2 saved as product_2.png 

Preview:

Conclusion

With just a few lines of Python, you can generate professional-looking barcodes for your products. This method is scalable, allowing batch generation for large inventories.

Try modifying the writer_options to adjust barcode size, text, and margins to fit your needs!

Happy coding! 🚀