GS1 Digital Link QR Code Generator
Turn your GTIN into the 2D barcode retail is moving to: one QR code that a checkout scanner reads as your product number and a shopper's phone opens as a web page. Batch, serial, and expiry included — validated against the GS1 rules as you type.
Pattern
Eyes
Three steps
How to Create a GS1 Digital Link QR Code
Enter Your Domain and GTIN
Use a domain you control — id.yourbrand.com is the common pattern — and the GTIN from your product's barcode. We validate the check digit and pad it to the 14-digit form the standard requires.
Add Batch, Serial, or Expiry
Optional fields for traceability: batch/lot (AI 10), serial (AI 21), variant (AI 22), and expiry (AI 17). Each is checked against the GS1 character-set and date rules, then placed in the canonical order for you.
Style and Download
Pick colors, drop in a logo, and download as PNG, SVG, or PDF. The QR encodes your GS1 URL directly, so what you print is exactly what scanners read.
The basics
What Is a GS1 Digital Link QR Code?
GS1 Digital Link is a GS1 standard that packs your product identifiers into an ordinary web address. Instead of a bare barcode number, you get a URL like:
https://id.yourbrand.com/01/09506000134352/10/ABC123?17=270601
The numbered segments are GS1 Application Identifiers: 01 is the GTIN, 10 the batch, 17the expiry date. Put that URL in a QR code and one symbol serves two audiences at once: a 2D-capable point-of-sale scanner parses the GTIN straight out of the URL path — offline, without visiting any website — while a shopper's phone camera opens the link like any other QR code.
That double duty is why GS1 calls it “one barcode that does it all” — and why it's the format behind the industry's move from 1D barcodes to 2D at checkout.
Why now
Sunrise 2027: Retail Is Switching to 2D Barcodes
GS1's Sunrise 2027 initiative asks retailers worldwide to be able to scan 2D barcodes — QR codes carrying GS1 Digital Link — at the point of sale by the end of 2027. For brands, that changes what a barcode can do:
Sell through checkout
The same QR code rings up at a 2D-ready register, because the GTIN travels inside the URL path.
Talk to shoppers
A phone scan lands on your page: instructions, ingredients, registration, support — you decide, per product.
Trace every batch
Batch, serial, and expiry ride along in the symbol, powering recalls, freshness checks, and item-level traceability.
Own the destination
The link lives on your domain. What the page shows can evolve; the printed identifier never has to change.
During the transition most brands print the Digital Link QR alongside the existing UPC/EAN — scanners that aren't 2D-ready yet keep working, and the ones that are get the richer code.
Application Identifiers
What You Can Encode
GTIN (AI 01)
Your product's Global Trade Item Number — the number under the barcode. Required, padded to 14 digits, and the check digit is validated before anything is generated.
Batch / lot (AI 10)
Optional. Add the batch or lot number when the code goes on packaging that's produced in runs — recalls and traceability depend on it.
Serial number (AI 21)
Optional. Serialize each unit for item-level traceability — the foundation for authenticity checks and, in the EU, Digital Product Passports.
Expiry date (AI 17)
Optional, in YYMMDD form. Carried as a query parameter per the GS1 syntax, so 2D-capable checkouts can block the sale of expired goods.
Know your barcodes
Digital Link QR vs. GS1-128 vs. a Regular QR Code
GS1-128 is the familiar 1D barcode with element strings; a regular QR code carries a link but no structured product data. GS1 Digital Link in a QR code does both jobs. (GS1 DataMatrix, common in pharma, also carries element strings — QRKIT generates the QR form of Digital Link, not GS1-128 or DataMatrix.)
| Digital Link QR | GS1-128 (1D) | Regular QR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carries a web link a phone can open | — | ||
| GTIN readable by retail POS scanners | — | ||
| Batch, serial & expiry in one symbol | — | ||
| Fits GS1's Sunrise 2027 2D transition | — | — |
Need a plain 1D retail barcode instead? Use our free barcode generator.
Why This QR Code Is Always Static
Point-of-sale scanners don't follow links — they read the GTIN out of the URL printed in the code, offline. A “dynamic” QR code encodes a short redirect URL instead of your GS1 URL, which removes the GTIN from the symbol entirely. It would still open on a phone, but at a checkout it would be just another web link. Some generators will happily sell you that; it isn't a conformant GS1 Digital Link.
So QRKIT encodes your GS1 URL directly, exactly as the standard requires. You still keep full control of the experience, because the destination lives on yourdomain — change what the page shows whenever you like. And since it's a static QR code, it's free, it never expires, and it keeps scanning no matter what happens to your QRKIT account. For marketing campaigns where you want scan analytics and editable destinations, pair it with a dynamic QR code on the same packaging.