^BE - EAN-13 Bar Code
Thirteen-digit retail symbology, the international form of UPC-A.
^BE prints an EAN-13 symbol, the retail bar code outside North America and a
superset of ^BU UPC-A. A UPC-A number is an EAN-13 with a leading zero.
EAN-13 holds the same number of bars as UPC-A. It encodes a thirteenth digit into the parity pattern of the left-hand six digits, and that digit with the twelfth gives the country prefix.
^BU does not render yet. To print a UPC-A, add the leading zero and send the
number through ^BE.
Syntax
^BEo,h,f,gSupport
Every documented parameter renders the same output Labelary produces.
Labelary renders this command.
Parameters
oBar code orientationoptional · one of a setRotation of the symbol and interpretation line.
- Default
- the orientation set by
^FW, which itself defaults toN - Invalid value
- discarded, and the default applies. The renderer reports an unrecognized character as invalid, and uses the default.
- Test coverage
- Values exercised: N, R, I, B. The invalid-value rule is not pinned by a test.
N- No rotation (default)
R- Rotated 90° clockwise
I- Rotated 180°. The symbol reads upside down
B- Rotated 270° clockwise
hBar code heightoptional · dotsHeight of the bars, without the interpretation line.
- Default
- the height set by
^BY, which itself defaults to 10 dots - Accepted range
- 1 to 32000 dots
- Invalid value
- clamped to the nearest allowed value. We measured this against live Labelary on 2026-07-12. The renderer clamps an out-of-range value to the violated bound, and does not ignore it.
- Test coverage
- Bounds pinned: minimum (1), below the minimum (0), above the maximum (40000). No test at the maximum. The invalid-value rule is not pinned by a test.
fPrint interpretation lineoptional · Y or NWhether the renderer prints the interpretation line.
- Default
- Y
- Invalid value
- discarded, and the default applies. The renderer reports any character except
YorN, and uses the default. - Test coverage
- Values exercised: Y, N. The invalid-value rule is not pinned by a test.
Y- Print the text (default)
N- Print the symbol only
gInterpretation line aboveoptional · Y or NWhere the interpretation line sits. It has no effect without that line.
- Default
- N
- Invalid value
- discarded, and the default applies. The renderer reports any character except
YorN, and uses the default. - Test coverage
- Values exercised: Y, N. The invalid-value rule is not pinned by a test.
Y- Above the symbol
N- Below the symbol (default)
Behavior
The field data is exactly twelve digits. The thirteenth is a mod-10 check
digit, and the printer computes it. We measured this against Labelary on
2026-07-30. The printer accepts all thirteen digits and recomputes the last one,
so ^FD590123412345 and ^FD5901234123457 render the same symbol. The printer
pads a shorter payload on the left with zeros.
Do not rely on a payload longer than thirteen digits. Validate the length upstream.
JAN-13 is the Japanese application of the same symbology, and its first two non-zero digits are 49.
For UCC and EAN-14 the guide names ^B2 Interleaved 2 of 5, not ^BE.
EAN-13 has a fixed print ratio, so the ^BY ratio argument has no effect and
only the module width and the height apply. The interpretation line prints in the
retail layout, with the leading digit outside the left guard bar.
Known issues
Tested behavior
Differences from the specification
zpl.tools against the ZPL II guide
Where our renderer behaves differently from the specification.
- The guide takes the default orientation from
^FW. The renderer applies^FWto text fields only. A barcode after^FWRprints unrotated unless its ownoargument rotates it. — not pinned by a test - The thirteenth digit is a check digit that the renderer computes from the first twelve. The renderer ignores a thirteenth digit in
^FD, so a payload with a wrong check digit prints corrected instead of rejected. — pinned bytest_ean_13_reports_a_supplied_check_digit_that_disagrees
zpl.tools against Labelary
Where our output differs from Labelary for the same input. These are the differences that break a migration.
- A payload longer than thirteen digits keeps its rightmost thirteen. This is the guide's left truncation applied to the data-plus-check form. Labelary keeps the first digit and the last eleven instead. On Labelary,
^FD123456789012345encodes1567890123459. That rule fits no reading of the guide, so the renderer does not reproduce it. The two engines encode different articles for the same field data. — not pinned by a test
Example
Twelve digits, with the thirteenth computed. The interpretation line reads 5 901234 123457:
^XA
^FO50,50^BY3
^BEN,80,Y,N
^FD590123412345^FS
^XZ
Related commands
^BYBar Code Field DefaultSets the module width, wide-to-narrow ratio and height that every later bar code inherits.^FDField DataSupplies the text or barcode content of the field.^FOField OriginSets the top-left corner of the next field.^FTField TypesetPositions the next field by its text baseline rather than its top edge.^B8EAN-8 Bar CodeEight-digit retail symbology for small packages, the short form of EAN-13.^BUUPC-A Bar CodeTwelve-digit retail symbology used in North America.^BSUPC/EAN ExtensionThe two- or five-digit add-on printed beside a UPC or EAN symbol, used for periodical issue numbers and suggested prices.