A plain-English walkthrough
No new equipment. No GS1 certification. No reprint when the destination changes. Here is the whole path — what you do, what we do, and what the shopper sees.
The path
Each step answers one question. Follow the links at the end of any step to go deeper — or skip them entirely: the happy path is five screens and a file you hand to your printer.
Step 01
Enter the GTIN that GS1 allocated to your product. We check length, format and the mod-10 check digit as you type — inline, not as a silent failure when you save.
We also check the number sits inside your own company prefix. A borrowed or resold barcode is the single most expensive mistake in this process, because it is usually found after artwork has gone to press.
Step 02
The validated GTIN is wrapped in the GS1 Digital Link pattern — /01/{gtin} — on a domain you control. Not a shortener, not our brand in front of your product.
Add batch or expiry when you need them. The URL is fixed at publish, so the symbol on the pack stays valid for the whole print run while the destination behind it stays yours to change.
https://go.yourbrand.com/01/09506000134352/10/LOT01
Step 03
Export vector SVG or PDF for packaging artwork and PNG for digital and signage. The symbol carries the quiet zone and module size your printer expects, so it grades properly on a verifier instead of failing at press-approval.
Step 04
Drop the vector into your artwork the way you always have. Any press that prints a QR code today can print this one — there is no new equipment and no change to your prepress workflow.
Running per-SKU or per-batch codes? Your printer can pull them in bulk from the API as a CSV of URLs, which is exactly the shape variable-data printing already consumes.
gtin,batch,full_url 09506000134352,LOT01,https://go.yourbrand.com/01/… 09506000134352,LOT02,https://go.yourbrand.com/01/…
Step 05
On the shelf the same symbol does two jobs. A till reads the GTIN underneath and rings up the sale. A shopper's phone hits our resolver, which returns the page you control.
Every scan becomes an event — country, city, device, referrer — and, on the tiers that include it, a signed webhook your systems can act on. That is the difference between a scan count and something you can build a recall check on.
Accept: application/linkset+json → the linkset
Before you start
01
Allocated by GS1 UK or your local member organisation. We do not sell numbers and you should be wary of anyone who does — resold barcodes fail retailer onboarding.
02
A subdomain is plenty — something like go.yourbrand.com. You point one DNS record at us; the brand on the pack stays yours.
03
Wherever it lives — in-house, with an agency, or with your printer. The export is a vector file that drops into the file you already have.
Once you are live
Nothing below changes the code on the pack — that is the whole advantage of putting a resolver behind it. Start with a redirect, add the rest when the need turns up.
Carry a batch in the URI and route a single affected lot to a notice while every other pack carries on as normal.
See programmable routing →A webhook with retries and delivery logs, so a scan can trigger work in your ERP or alert a channel — not just increment a counter.
See the events layer →Linkset responses and content negotiation to the GS1 resolver standard, for when a retailer or a regulator asks what your code actually returns.
Meet the resolver →Provenance, allergens, e-labels, warranty capture — the reasons a shopper scans twice, by sector.
Find your use case →Yes, for the GTIN itself — GS1 allocates those, and we do not sell numbers. Once you have a GTIN from GS1 UK or your local member organisation, everything on this page is self-serve. You do not need any separate GS1 certification to use a Digital Link.
No. A GS1 Digital Link QR is an ordinary 2D symbol — any press that prints a QR code today can print it. You export vector artwork and hand it to your printer exactly as you do now.
Yes. That is the point of running the resolver rather than encoding a destination into the symbol. The URL on the pack stays fixed; what it returns is yours to change whenever you like, with no reprint and no per-change fee.
Nothing has to change on day one. Sunrise 2027 is about tills being able to read 2D codes, not about retiring the linear barcode. Most brands carry both through a transition period and drop the linear one when their retailers confirm they are ready.
In AWS London, run by Synvu Ltd under English law. That matters more than it sounds: several resolvers marketed to UK brands, including some official ones, actually run outside the UK.
Nothing per scan. A printed pack lives for years and its scan volume is not something you control, so metering it would be a tax on your own success. Plans are priced on products and features, never on views or edits.
Self-serve, print-ready artwork in minutes, re-pointable for the life of the pack. 14-day free trial.
