Search for 'generate barcode' and you'll find dozens of free websites that turn a number into black bars in a second. Making one barcode is the easy part. The hard part is choosing the right type, printing labels that survive oil, heat and handling on your shop floor, and making sure a scan ends up somewhere useful instead of in another spreadsheet nobody opens.
This guide is for small and medium manufacturers in India who want to generate barcodes and QR codes for job cards, raw material, work in progress, finished goods or cartons. It covers which code to use for which job, four free ways to make them (including Excel and Word), how to print and scan labels reliably, and what to do when a scanner refuses to read. If you just need a code right now, our free barcode and QR code generator makes one in your browser, or prints a whole sheet of labels from an Excel list.
First, decide what the barcode is for
A barcode is just a number or a short piece of text in a form a machine can read. It doesn't hold your data; it points to it. So before you choose a type, decide what each code will point to.
- Job cards and travellers: the job or work order number, so anyone can scan and see which drawing revision, operation and due date it belongs to
- Raw material and bins: a material code or lot number, so you know which heat or batch went into which job
- Work in progress: the job number plus the operation, so a scan at each station records where the job is
- Finished goods and cartons: a product code, batch and quantity, often in a format your customer has specified
- Products sold in retail stores or on marketplaces: an official GS1 number, which you can't make up yourself
For the first four, you can create your own numbering. For the last, you need numbers registered with GS1 India; our guide to GS1 barcode registration in India explains when you need them and how to register.
Which barcode type suits which task
- Code 128: the workhorse for internal labels. It holds letters and numbers, stays compact, and almost every scanner reads it. Use it for job numbers, material codes and bin locations.
- Code 39: older and wider than Code 128, but very easy to make in Excel with a free font. A good start if you're labelling a few hundred items and want to keep things simple.
- QR code: a 2D code that holds much more, such as a full web link or a short block of text, and reads with any phone camera. Useful when people on the floor, or your customer, will scan with a phone rather than a scanner.
- Data Matrix: a small, dense 2D code that still reads when part of it is damaged. Used for marking small parts directly, often by laser or dot peen.
- EAN-13: the 13-digit code on retail products. Only use it with numbers issued to your company by GS1.
- GS1-128: a version of Code 128 that carries tagged information such as batch number, expiry date or a shipping container code. Large customers and distributors sometimes ask for it on cartons and pallets.
If you're unsure, start with Code 128 for anything that stays inside your company and QR codes for anything someone will scan with a phone. Add others when a customer asks for them.
Four free ways to generate barcodes
You don't need to buy software to start. All four of these are free; choose by how many codes you need and where your list already lives.
1. With a free online barcode generator
For a handful of codes, such as a sample label or a one-off bin, an online generator is the quickest way. Type the value, choose the type, and download the image or print it. Choose SVG or a high-resolution PNG, because a blurry barcode won't scan. Be careful what you type into a website you don't know: some send what you type to their servers.
We built a free barcode generator for manufacturers for exactly this. It makes Code 128, QR, Data Matrix, Code 39, EAN-13, ITF-14 and GS1-128 codes, prints a whole run of labels from a list you paste in from Excel, and runs entirely in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere.
2. How to generate barcodes in Excel
If your job or material list already lives in Excel, a barcode font is the simplest way. Install a free Code 39 font (Libre Barcode 39 is free on Google Fonts). In a new column, wrap each value in asterisks, which Code 39 uses as its start and stop marks: ="*"&A2&"*". Set that column's font to the barcode font, and print.
Code 128 fonts exist too, but Code 128 needs a calculated check character, so a font on its own won't produce a valid code. For Code 128 or QR codes from an Excel list, use an add-in, or copy the column into our barcode generator and print the labels from there.
3. How to make barcode labels with Word mail merge
Microsoft Word has a built-in DISPLAYBARCODE field that can produce Code 128, Code 39, EAN-13 and QR codes. Set up a label mail merge from your Excel sheet, then insert the field with your merge field as the value and the barcode type after it, so it reads { DISPLAYBARCODE { MERGEFIELD JobNo } CODE128 }. Press Ctrl+F9 to create each pair of field braces; typing them doesn't work. Every label then gets its own barcode on standard label sheets. It takes some trial and error the first time, but once the template works, anyone in the office can run it.
4. Generate barcodes in bulk with a short script
If someone on your team writes a little code, Python has free libraries for this: python-barcode for linear codes and qrcode for QR codes. A ten-line script can read your Excel export and save one image per row, which helps when barcodes need to be created automatically, for example every time a new job is opened.
What about Tally?
Barcode printing in TallyPrime usually means a customisation (TDL) or a paid add-on from a Tally partner. If you already use one, check that it supports the barcode type and label size you need before you buy another tool.
Printing labels that last on the shop floor
Most barcode problems are printing problems. A code that scans perfectly off the office printer can fail after a week near a coolant line.
- Choose the right printer. A desktop thermal label printer is the usual choice for regular labelling. Direct thermal labels need no ribbon but fade with heat and sunlight, so keep them for short-lived labels like dispatch slips. Thermal transfer printing uses a ribbon and lasts much longer; a resin ribbon on synthetic labels stands up best to oil, solvents and abrasion.
- Match the label to the surface. Paper for cartons and files; polyester or polypropylene for metal parts, bins and anything that gets handled or washed. On rough or oily surfaces, ask your label supplier for a stronger adhesive.
- Leave a quiet zone. Every linear barcode needs a blank margin on both sides. Crop it tight to the edge of the label and scanners struggle.
- Don't squeeze it. Long values make long Code 128 barcodes. If it won't fit, shorten the value (a job number instead of a description) rather than shrinking the bars.
- Print dark on light. Black on white is safest. Red bars, dark backgrounds and shiny laminates cause most 'it won't scan' complaints.
- Print the value in plain text under the code, so people can still read it when there's no scanner around.
- Test before you print a thousand. Print ten, stick them where they'll really live for a few days, and scan them again.
Scanning: what to buy and where the scans go
A basic USB or wireless barcode scanner behaves like a keyboard. Click into a cell in Excel, scan, and the value appears as if someone typed it, usually followed by Enter. That's often all you need to start: a sheet with a time column, a job column and a station column becomes a simple record of what moved where.
- Buy a 2D imager if there's any chance you'll use QR or Data Matrix codes. Older laser scanners only read linear barcodes.
- Phones read QR codes with the camera, and many free apps read linear barcodes too. Good for occasional checks, slower than a scanner for high-volume work.
- Wireless scanners are worth the small extra cost at stations where the computer isn't next to the work.
Barcodes and WhatsApp work well together too. A QR code on a job card can link to the drawing or to a shared folder for that job, so whoever scans it with a phone sees the latest revision instead of the one printed last month. And when someone shares a photo of a label in the group, the number printed under the code tells everyone exactly which job they mean.
When the scanner won't read: a troubleshooting checklist
- Nothing happens when you scan: the scanner may not have that barcode type switched on. Most scanners come with a setup booklet of configuration barcodes; scan the one that enables the type you're using.
- Wrong characters appear: the scanner's keyboard language doesn't match the computer's. Set both to the same layout, usually US English.
- Every scan lands in the wrong cell: change the scanner's suffix from Enter to Tab, or the other way round, to suit how your sheet is laid out.
- Some labels read and others don't: check the quiet zone, the print darkness, and whether the label wraps around a small curved part. Bars running around a curve are harder to read than bars running along it.
- Codes read in the office but not on the floor: glare from shiny labels or bright lights. Tilt the scanner slightly, or switch to matte labels.
- QR codes don't read at all: you probably have a scanner that only reads linear barcodes.
- Labels fade or smudge after a few weeks: move from direct thermal to thermal transfer, or to a tougher ribbon and label material.
Quick answers
Can I generate a barcode for free?
Yes. For labels used inside your company, such as job cards, bins and material lots, you can generate barcodes free with an online generator, Excel or Word, and number them however you like. You only pay when you need official GS1 numbers for products sold in shops or on marketplaces.
Do I need GS1 registration to generate a barcode?
Only for products that someone else's system will scan: retail billing counters, marketplaces, or buyers who ask for GS1 numbers. For internal labels, your own numbers in Code 128 or QR codes work fine. Here's when you need GS1 barcodes.
Which barcode is best for inventory?
Code 128 for most inventory and bin labels, because it's compact and almost every scanner reads it. Use QR codes if your team scans with phones, and Data Matrix for very small parts.
Can a phone scan barcodes?
Yes. Phone cameras read QR codes directly, and free scanner apps read linear barcodes too. For hundreds of scans a day, a handheld scanner is faster.
The barcode is the easy part
Once the labels are printed and the scanners work, most manufacturers hit the same wall. The scans pile up in a sheet. The drawing revision is in someone's email. The customer's change came on WhatsApp. The barcode tells you which job you're holding, but what you know about that job is still scattered across five places.
That's the problem we work on at Wisemove. We build custom systems for small and medium manufacturers that bring what's scattered across WhatsApp, Excel and inboxes into one place, and teams use them through Youno, a work chat app as simple as WhatsApp. In a system like that, a barcode becomes one more way in: scan a job card and see what's known about that job, with its latest drawing and status. The system can suggest the next update, and a person approves it before anything changes. If your business needs it to talk to software you already use, we build that connection as part of your system.
Whether or not you ever talk to us, start small. Pick one area, such as material lots or job cards, label it well, and see how many questions a single scan answers. That will tell you where to go next. And if it shows you how scattered the rest is, book a call with us.