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What colour should a barcode be?

Scanners read barcodes by using a red light to recognise the contrast between the bars and spaces of the symbol. If there isn't enough contrast, the barcode won't scan.

Black bars against a white background are the safest choice, but other combinations will also work well. When deciding on your barcode colours, its important to be aware of the following guidlines.

  1. Symbols should always be printed with dark bars on a light background. Black, dark blue, and dark green are all colours you could use to print the bars, while white and yellow are good background colours.

    scannable colours
  2. If you print with the colours reversed, light bars on a dark background, the scanner won't read the barcode.

    non scannable colours
  3. If your label is transparent, don't rely on the contents to act as the background for the bars. This can cause scanning issues so you should always print the dark bars over a light background.
  4. Since most scanners use red light to read the barcodes, its best to not use red, or reddish colours, as it will make the bars invisible to the scanner.

If you want to check the colours of your barcode, GS1 Ireland offers a Verification Service that tests a range of factors that goes into the scanning of your symbols.