You bought a barcode.
Now it needs a QR code.
Here's the whole thing, done.
Retailers are moving to 2D codes by the end of 2027. If you make games, candles, cosmetics or snacks, you need a GS1 QR next to your UPC and a link that keeps working. Paste your barcode number, get the file, send it to your printer.
No barcode number yet? Check your packaging artwork instead. Free, and the file never leaves your computer.
The new code is a web address.
Someone has to keep it answering.
Scan any GS1 QR and this is what's inside. A checkout reads the product number. A phone opens the page. Both depend on that first part staying online for years.
Paste your GTIN
The 12 or 13 digits under your current barcode. We check the digit math before anything goes near a printer.
Send the SVG to your designer
Barcode and QR in one vector file, correct size, quiet zones included. It drops into the dieline you already have.
Point it anywhere, change it later
Your product page, a page per country, a manual, or the free page we host. Change it next year without reprinting a single box.
When a batch goes bad,
the box tells people.
Flip a recall on for one product or a list of lots. From the next scan, shoppers holding lot 24B see your notice. Shoppers holding lot 25A still see your normal page. No new labels, no call to the printer.
The 2021 onion outbreak made more than 1,000 people sick across 39 states, and tracing it back to one growing region took weeks. That slow trace-back is what the FDA's new food traceability rule is meant to fix. It's also why we built recalls first.
Try it on your phone
This is a real code for lot 24B of our demo product, with a recall switched on. Scan it, or open it here.
A QR code is easy.
The one on a retail box isn't.
| Free QR generator | DLCode | Enterprise label platforms | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GTIN in GS1 format a register can read | |||
| Change the destination without reprinting | Often paid | ||
| Recall a single lot | |||
| Different page per country | |||
| Barcode and QR sized for checkout | |||
| No monthly subscription | |||
| Price | $0 | From $249 once, hosted through 2030 | From about $3,000 a year |
Pay once. Print for years.
No monthly bill for a QR code.
Free
No card needed
3 products with real print files that never expire. Scans open a page we host.
Try it free25 products
about $5 a month through 2030
A product line with its sizes and flavors. Most independent brands start here.
Get started100 products
about $10 a month through 2030
A full catalog of variants, or a brand selling in several countries.
Get started1,000 products
about $30 a month through 2030
Co-packers, distributors and agencies doing this for clients.
Get startedPacks add links to your own store, lot codes, lot recalls, country routing and bulk import, with hosting and unlimited scans until December 31, 2030. Need more room later? Pay only the difference. After 2030, hosting renews at $29 a year for any pack size. If you don't renew, your codes keep opening a basic page with your product name and brand, so a printed box never hits a dead link.
Before you print.
Do I still need to buy a barcode from GS1?
Yes. The QR carries your GTIN, and retailers check that number against GS1's registry. In the US a single GTIN is $30 once. A 10-product prefix is $250 plus $50 a year. Resold barcodes from marketplaces are registered to somebody else, and retailers that check will turn them down.
Can I drop the old barcode once the QR is on?
Not yet. Most checkout lanes still fire a laser that can't read a grid. GS1's guidance for the transition is both symbols, the 2D one within 50 mm of the linear one. Our label file is laid out that way.
What happens to my codes after 2030?
After 2030, hosting renews at $29 a year for any pack size. If you don't renew, your codes keep opening a basic page with your product name and brand, so a printed box never hits a dead link.
Is the free plan really free?
Yes. Three products, real print files without a watermark, no card, no scan limit and no expiry. Scans open a clean product page we host. A pack lets you send scans to your own store, add lot codes and recalls, and route by country.
Can I use my own domain instead of dlcode.coastalsunbeam.com?
The QR is only as permanent as the domain inside it. Ours is a short domain used for nothing but these links. If you need your own domain in the code, email us before you print and we'll set it up.
Is a QR from a free generator good enough?
A plain QR holds a web address. A GS1 Digital Link QR holds your GTIN in a structure checkout software can parse, so the register can still ring the item up. Free generators also tend to route through their own short links, which die when they pivot.