Carton label: SSCC shipping labels for cases and cartons

Shipping label or product label

Two different barcodes can end up on a carton, and they answer different questions. A GTIN says what kind of product is in the box, and is the same on every identical case. An SSCC says which individual box this is, and is never the same twice. The GS1 General Specifications keep them apart: the SSCC is the only GS1 key that shall identify a logistic unit, and a GTIN with a serial number shall not replace it (section 2.2). The carton label on this site is the SSCC kind.

Numbering a run of cartons

Keep the extension digit and your GS1 Company Prefix fixed and count up the serial reference by one per carton. The check digit has to be recalculated for each number, so the last digit does not simply count up:

The label generator does this for a quantity you choose, or for every row of a CSV packing list. It stops with an error if the serial reference would run past the digits your prefix leaves, because a serial that wraps back to zero is a number you have already used.

Two rules matter more than any other. Never print the same SSCC on two cartons: GS1 says an SSCC must not be reallocated within one year of the shipment date (section 2.2.1). And record the last serial you used, so the next run starts after it.

What a duplicate or unreadable carton label costs

Some retailers publish their fees. The Designer Brands vendor chargeback policy (revised June 2026) lists a duplicate UCC-128 number at $25 per carton in error, and a missing or unscannable UCC-128 label at $7.50 per carton in error. The Foot Locker Vendor Standards Manual (July 2026) lists a missing, incorrect or unscannable UCC 128 label at $7.50 per carton plus $250.00. Both were read on 9 October 2026. The full lists are on the retailer label chargebacks page. UCC-128 is the older name for the same barcode, as explained here.

Where the barcode goes on a carton

GS1's general rules for cartons and outer cases are in section 6.7.1.2 of the General Specifications:

• The target position for the bottom of the barcode is 32 mm (1.25 inches) from the natural base of the carton.
• The barcode, quiet zones included, should be at least 19 mm (0.75 inch) from any vertical edge.
• The bars are upright, in picket fence orientation, on a side of the carton (section 6.7.1).

A retailer's routing guide may set its own placement on top of this. Those rules are not part of the GS1 standard, so this site does not list them. Check the guide.

Label size and print quality

The carton label uses the same 4 x 6 inch layout as the pallet label template, with "carton 1 of 12" style numbering in the middle block. The barcode size rules are the same too: see GS1-128 label for the module width and quiet zones, and the SSCC label guide for the rest of what GS1 requires.