LEARN

Everything we know about 2D codes, written down.

GS1 explainers, product documentation, and what actually changed in the specifications — one library, because a founder asking what a link type is and an engineer reading the reference are usually the same person on different days.

Start where you actually are

4 routes through the same library.

DOCS · 4 MIN · 13 AUG 2026

Our GS1 resolver conformance run

A dated run of GS1's public resolver conformance test suite against a live packagepage resolver — the result, the raw output, the one warning it returned, and the thing the suite does not test.

NOTES · 3 MIN · 13 AUG 2026

Why we will not let you write custom CSS on your product page

Consumer product pages are themed with typed tokens rather than a stylesheet. The reason is the allergen block, and it is the one product decision we are not willing to negotiate.

Extreme macro of the edge of a printed area on paper, where dense dark ink meets the unprinted margin and the paper fibre is visible.

DOCS · 3 MIN · 13 AUG 2026

Publishing a recall notice

What happens when you publish a recall notice, exactly who it reaches, why it writes two links to every affected grain rather than one, and why it is free and ungated on every plan.

Four identical dark glass bottles in a row against a pale wall, each with a plain paper label carrying a different hand-written lot number.

EXPLAINER · 5 MIN · 13 AUG 2026

The regulatory deadlines, and which of them are actually law

Sunrise 2027 is an industry goal with nobody to enforce it. These are the rules that can be enforced — what each one requires, when it applies, and how sure we are of each date.

EXPLAINER · 4 MIN · 13 AUG 2026

Sunrise 2027, explained for people who make things

What GS1's 2027 goal for 2D barcodes at checkout actually says, what it does not say, and why the deadline that matters to a brand is its next print run rather than a date.

Four printed label proofs laid in a row on a pale workbench, with a steel ruler across one, a pencil annotation beside it and a folding loupe at the edge of the frame.

CHANGELOG · 2 MIN · 26 JAN 2026

GS1 General Specifications 26.0

The General Specifications release packagepage generates and checks artwork against, ratified 26 January 2026 — what it governs, and what it means for labels already at a printer.

A thick stack of loose printed pages on a grey desk, slightly fanned, with the top page lifted at one corner; the text is too small to read.

CHANGELOG · 2 MIN · JAN 2026

GS1-Conformant Resolver Standard 1.2.0

The resolver standard release packagepage is built and tested against, ratified in January 2026 — what it governs, and why it changes nothing about artwork already at a printer.

CHANGELOG · 2 MIN · DEC 2025

2D Barcodes at Retail POS Implementation Guideline 1.1.0

The guideline that defines which 2D carriers are usable at a checkout lane and states the 2027 goal, ratified December 2025 — and what it means for artwork already at a printer.

GLOSSARY

Every GS1 term the product uses, defined in one sentence and then in a paragraph — 15 of them.

Application identifier (AI)Check digitGS1 Company PrefixConsumer product variant (CPV)GS1 Digital Link URIError correctionGlobal Product Classification (GPC)
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Still not sure it applies to you?

Send us your product and we will tell you plainly whether you need to do anything before the end of 2027.

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