Print barcodes without installing a barcode font

Native CODE128. Excel fonts do not scan

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Print barcodes without installing a barcode font

Published: · 3 min read · How-to
Do this in the free app: app.mylabelmaker.com. No signup. Design the label, then print on a Zebra or download PNG / PDF / ZPL.

Excel “barcode fonts” are the most common reason labels do not scan (missing start/stop, wrong subset, no quiet zone). Skip the font. Put the value in a native barcode element. Open the free label maker to do it now.

Good to know: A photo of a barcode, or a 12-pt font on Letter paper, will fail at the warehouse door. Use a real barcode object.

How to print barcodes without a barcode font

  1. Open the free label maker. No signup.
  2. Set the label size to your roll (often 2×1 or 2.25×1.25).
  3. Add a barcode object and type or map the plain value from Excel. Do not install a CODE128 font.
  4. Print one test at the printer’s DPI. Scan it. Then print the rest.

Why Excel barcode fonts fail

A font is just shapes. It usually misses start/stop characters, the check digit, and a quiet zone. Warehouse scanners reject those. A native CODE128 object draws real bars at print DPI.

Print a whole list from Excel or Google Sheets

Put each SKU, name, or code in its own row. In the app, map a column into text, a barcode, or a QR code. Preview one row, then print the stack. Guide: mail merge labels.

Print or save

Zebra thermal: print from the browser with Browser Print at the printer’s DPI. Everyone else: download PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, or ZPL. JSON keeps the editable master.

Design these labels free

Pick a size, add text or a barcode, print or export. No account.

Open free label maker