With GS1’s Sunrise 2027 program, the transition to 2D barcodes for retail, is gaining momentum, and many brand owners are already either adding these barcodes to their products or are investigating doing so. The shift from traditional EAN/UPC barcodes to GS1 Digital Link or GS1 Datamatrix – the two-dimensional codes that can carry a product GTIN, batch number, expiry date, and other data is no longer a distant IT project. It’s a marketing, compliance, packaging and quality decision that is happening now.
Questions I often hear include:
- Do I really have to do this by 2027, or even at all? The answer is: you don’t have to change anything if you don’t want to. The existing EAN/UPC codes on your packaging will remain valid. There are, however, several reasons your brand could find it worthwhile to get involved. I covered this topic here: https://packagingnews.net/will-you-need-to-change-every-barcode/
- Can we pre-print the Digital Link code, or do we apply it on the line? The answer to this one depends almost entirely on whether your code needs to carry variable information; that’s where the conversation gets interesting and is the topic of this article.
- Since many retailers cannot handle 2D barcodes for point of sale at the moment, how do we get around that? Well, GS1’s solution is simply to continue printing the EAN or UPC code on the product and add the new 2D code next to it. Yes, this is cumbersome, but honestly, it’s probably the only short-term solution during the transition period.
The data the GS1 2D codes contain
GS1 gives brands considerable discretion over what is included in their 2D codes. The simplest version consists of the product GTIN, which is the number embedded in the usual UPC or EAN barcodes, and a URL or web link to an online property controlled by the brand, providing consumers with access to product information. Other pieces of information that can be encoded include:
- the product expiration date
- lot number
- a unique serial number
- weight and other parameters
Both GS1 Datamatrix and Digital Link can be encoded with any of the application identifiers (AIs) in the GS1 standard. It’s important to note that as more data is added, the size of the 2D-printed symbol will increase.
Which AIs you encode will depend on a number of factors:
- The nature of your product – do you need dates or lot codes for inventory management, for example?
- The industry you operate in – maybe life sciences, where certain data is mandated, or food products that are subject to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)
- Your retailer partners insist on certain data elements being included – I’ve not seen this happen as yet, but it’s probably a matter of time.
Which data elements a brand includes in their 2D barcode will largely determine whether it is best to pre-print the symbol or add it to the package on the packaging line.
When pre-printing makes sense
The EAN or UPC barcodes on your products today are almost certainly pre-printed, along with the rest of the graphics and text on your package. This is great for the folks working your packaging lines; they don’t need to get involved in barcode printing and barcode quality control.
If your Digital Link code contains only static data, the product GTIN, a URL, or nothing that changes from run to run, then pre-printing is a perfectly viable option, and in many cases the smarter one. You get the best possible print quality, full integration into your existing artwork and plate-making (or digital) workflow, and no additional complexity on the production line.
This applies across print processes: offset, flexo, gravure, screen. The code is treated like any other graphic element on the pack, and as long as your pre-press house understands the quiet zone requirements and minimum size specifications for Digital Link symbols, there’s no reason it shouldn’t scan reliably at retail. Of course, the printed symbol still needs to be verified to ensure it complies with the standards.
In a recent survey sponsored by GS1, about a quarter of 2D codes (Digital Link or GS1 Datamatrix, mostly pre-printed codes) had syntax errors, something that is easily discovered and needs to be part of your QR program, right from the design stage.
Where it gets a little more nuanced is serialization. Conventional wisdom suggests you can’t pre-print a unique serial number — and for most analogue processes, that’s true, but digital printing has changed this. If your print vendor uses a digital press or a flexo line equipped with a digital add-on module, you can pre-print serialized Digital Link codes at production speed, with each unit carrying a unique number.
That enables tracking and tracing, anti-counterfeiting, and consumer engagement programs without touching the production line coding infrastructure at all. It’s an option that not enough brand owners are aware of, and one worth raising early in the conversation with your label or packaging converter.
When you need to print online
The moment variable data enters the picture – best-before dates, lot codes, batch numbers – pre-printing is off the table for most formats, and you’re into online coding territory. This is familiar ground for anyone in industries where regulatory requirements make variable data non-negotiable.
The good news is that the same coding technologies already used to apply date and batch information can handle Digital Link codes, provided the equipment is specified correctly, and the code size and resolution requirements are met. Not every legacy coder will be up to the job, so it’s essential to audit your line before assuming the existing equipment is capable of printing these codes.
GS1 has an excellent online tool that can give you a good estimate of the size of your 2D code, although your printing process may make it slightly different.
GS1 allows an X-dimension (size of the small squares in the code) between 0.396 mm and 0.99 mm. The GS1 report shows the printed symbol size and the space that needs to be allocated on the package (for the quiet zone).
Print Technologies for 2D codes
Continuous Inkjet (CIJ) is the most commonly used technology for printing variable codes onto packaging materials. Just about every packaging operation uses these printers, which can print date and lot codes, as well as some barcodes, onto a wide range of products. The low print resolution of CIJ printers makes them unsuitable for many GS1 2D applications – especially older model printers.
Thermal Transfer Overprinting (TTO) is widely used on flexible packaging lines and produces clean, high-contrast print that works well for Digital Link. It’s a mature technology, well understood by packaging engineers, and capable of the resolution needed for reliable code scanning. If you’re already running TTO for date coding on labels, pouches, or flow-wrap, the transition to Digital Link may be a matter of software and code configuration rather than capital investment.
Thermal Inkjet (TIJ) is a non-contact technology that is suitable for a broad range of substrates and is increasingly popular on packaging lines. It’s simple to integrate, requires minimal maintenance, and TIJ systems can achieve the print quality needed for Digital Link without issue. Note that most TIJ printheads have a print height of 0.5 inches, which is not enough for most Digital Link codes. A new generation of printheads with a wider print swath looks to be a better solution for these jobs.
Hi-Res Piezo Inkjet (PIJ) printers use piezoelectric material printheads to deposit ink droplets with high accuracy. It’s capable of excellent resolution across a wide range of substrates, including challenging surfaces where the inks can be cured using UV light. The capital cost of PIJ systems can be higher, but they offer excellent print quality, even at very high packaging line speeds.
Laser Coding is a modern solution with no ink, no consumables, and no contact with the product. A laser marks the packaging material directly, making it attractive from a running-cost and hygiene perspective, particularly in food and beverage environments. Lasers are available with different light frequencies and power outputs to suit a range of applications. Before investing in laser coding technology, it is crucial to have your vendor test your materials to determine which laser (if any) will meet the application’s demands.
Just as important as printing the codes on your package is controlling the data to be printed and ensuring that the code syntax is always correct. It could be a good time to integrate your printing and data as outlined in this post.
Some closing thoughts
Choosing between pre-print and online coding isn’t just a technical decision — it’s a conversation about your supply chain, your product range, and what you actually want your Digital Link code to do.
A brand selling a product with no mandatory variable data and no immediate ambition for serialisation might pre-print and be done with it. A food manufacturer with complex date-coding requirements across multiple SKUs will almost certainly be printing online and needs to ensure the coding infrastructure can reliably handle the new symbol format before launching this concept.
The worst outcome – and I’ve seen this before with previous barcode transitions – is brands leaving the decision too late, rushing a retrofit, and ending up with codes that technically exist on-pack but scan poorly or inconsistently at the point of use. That’s not a position anyone wants to be in when retailers start enforcing compliance.
It’s essential to involve your converter, your coding equipment supplier and your packaging team early, and don’t underestimate the importance of testing across the full range of substrates and production conditions your packaging actually encounters. The code on the artwork is the easy part. Making it scan, every time, at speed, on every line — that’s the secret of success
