ITF-14 Explained: Shipping Carton Barcodes, GTIN-14, and SSCC-18
What ITF-14 is, how it differs from GS1-128 and SSCC-18, and the size and bearer-bar rules a case label must meet to scan.
ITF-14 is the barcode you print on a shipping case to say what product is inside the box. It carries a 14-digit GTIN and nothing else. If the case label also has to carry a lot number, an expiry date or a serial number, you need GS1-128.
What the 14 digits mean
A GTIN-14 has three parts.
- Digit 1 is the indicator.
1-8mean a packaging level (inner pack, case, pallet), and you decide what each number means, not GS1.9means a variable-measure item. - Digits 2-13 are the GTIN-12 or GTIN-13 of the consumer unit inside, padded to 13 digits.
- Digit 14 is a mod-10 check digit, the same algorithm UPC and EAN use.
Change the indicator digit and the check digit changes with it. Our ITF-14 generator recalculates the check digit for you, which removes the classic mistake of editing the indicator by hand and keeping the old check digit.
When to use ITF-14
Use ITF-14 when the case GTIN is the only thing the label has to carry. The table maps each job to the right carrier.
| You need to encode... | Use this |
|---|---|
| Just the case GTIN | ITF-14 |
| GTIN + lot / expiry / weight | GS1-128 |
| A unique carton serial (SSCC-18) | GS1-128 with AI (00) |
| POS-scannable item-level code | UPC-A or EAN-13 |
| Small loose items (produce, pharmacy) | GS1 DataBar |
Grocery distributors will usually accept ITF-14 alone. Walmart and many large retailers, and anyone running automated sortation, require a GS1-128 label with an SSCC as well, while Target accepts an ITF-14 GTIN-14 on single-item cartons. Read the retailer's routing guide before you print anything.
ITF-14 and SSCC-18 do different jobs
Both are numeric carriers of 14 to 18 digits, and they get confused constantly. They answer different questions.
- ITF-14 carries the GTIN-14, the product identity. "This is a case of 24 widgets." Every identical case gets the same number.
- SSCC-18 carries a serialised carton identity. "This is physical carton 000000123, globally unique." Every physical case gets a different number, carried inside a GS1-128 under AI (00).
A logistic label usually carries both. ITF-14 says what is inside, and SSCC-18 says which carton this is.
Size rules
GS1 publishes a magnification ladder for ITF-14. These are the figures that decide whether a case label scans.
- The nominal X-dimension is 1.016 mm (0.040 in) at 100% magnification.
- General distribution allows 50% to 100% magnification, so X runs from 0.508 mm to 1.016 mm.
- Direct print on corrugated (plate or flexo) needs at least 62.5% magnification, X 0.635 mm or wider. Below that, ink bleed on kraft cardboard closes the narrow spaces.
- The quiet zone is 10X on each side.
- Bearer bars are mandatory. Plate printing uses a full rectangular frame 4.83 mm thick. Thermal and on-demand printing uses top and bottom bars only, at least 1 mm thick.
Bearer bars do a job. Without them, a laser sweep that crosses only part of the symbol reads the first or last digits on their own. That is how a case gets shipped labelled as the wrong SKU.
Mistakes that get cases kicked back
- No bearer bars. The scanner reads half the symbol, reports a shorter number, and the receiving system flags a mismatch.
- Too small on kraft corrugated. Ink bleed on uncoated cardboard blurs the edges, and below 62.5% magnification the label is unscannable before it leaves the printer.
- Generic Interleaved 2 of 5 in place of ITF-14. They share a symbology but not a spec. Plain ITF accepts any even digit count with no bearer bars and no mandatory check digit, so the two are not interchangeable.
- Mismatched indicator and check digits. Changing the indicator from 1 to 0 (the consumer unit) without regenerating the check digit gives a code that every compliant encoder refuses and every verifying reader rejects.
- ITF-14 where the retailer wants an SSCC. An SSCC does not fit in an ITF-14, so that label needs a GS1-128.
Sunrise 2027 leaves ITF-14 alone
GS1's Sunrise 2027 programme moves retail point-of-sale to 2D codes (QR with Digital Link, Data Matrix). Case-level shipping labels carry on with ITF-14 and GS1-128 as before. If a vendor offers you a "2027 migration" for case labels, there is nothing to migrate.
Print it
For one case GTIN on a clean print-ready label, use the ITF-14 generator. For a run, the ITF-14 batch generator takes a CSV of GTIN-14s and outputs a PDF, with bearer bars on by default.
To print an ITF-14 and a GS1-128 SSCC on the same label, generate them separately. Place the ITF-14 above the GS1-128 with at least a full quiet zone between them. They are different tools, and each keeps its own symbol.