ITF-14 barcodes in Adobe Illustrator

ITF-14 is the barcode on corrugated outer cases: it carries the 14-digit GTIN of the trade unit and is printed with a heavy bearer-bar frame. Vectode builds it to the GS1 specification and places it on your artboard as editable vector paths.

How to insert it in Illustrator

1. Open the Vectode panel (Window ▸ Extensions ▸ Vectode) or the standalone app.
2. Choose ITF-14 and type the GTIN — 13 digits and the check digit is computed, or all 14 and it is verified.
3. Pick the X-dimension, bar height and bearer-bar style, then click Insert.

What Vectode gets right

• Bearer bars: a full 4.83 mm frame around the symbol and its quiet zones (for plate printing), or bars at the top and bottom only (for printing without plates)
• Wide-to-narrow ratio 2.5:1 — the GS1 target
• GS1 sizes: X-dimension 0.495–1.016 mm, bar height 31.75 mm, 10X quiet zones — with a warning below the GS1 minimum
• Human-readable digits in OCR-B below the bearer bar, at least 1.02 mm away from it
• Bar width reduction (BWR) narrows the bars only — the bearer bars stay at full thickness

Frequently asked questions

Why the heavy frame around the barcode?

The bearer bar evens out printing-plate pressure on corrugated board and stops a skewed scan line from producing a short read. GS1 makes it mandatory unless it is technically impossible; when printing without plates, bars at the top and bottom are enough.

Can I print ITF-14 directly on corrugated board?

Yes, that is what it is designed for — but GS1 advises that symbols with an X-dimension below 0.635 mm should not be printed directly on corrugate with plate-based processes. Choose 0.635 mm or more in that case.

ITF-14 or GS1-128 on a carton?

ITF-14 carries only the GTIN. If the carton also needs batch, dates or weights, use GS1-128.

More codes in Vectode: EAN-13 & EAN-8 · UPC-A & UPC-E · GS1 DataMatrix · Data Matrix & Aztec · Pharma codes (PPN, SÚKL) · Code 128 · GS1-128 · GS1 QR & Digital Link · all features →