Sunrise 2027: How to Print 2D Barcodes on Labels & Packaging

As of September 2026. This article explains a retail-industry standard and a US food-traceability rule for general information. It is not legal advice. Deadlines and enforcement dates shift through implementing acts and agency rulemaking — confirm current values with GS1, the FDA, or your compliance lead before you file.

What Is GS1 Sunrise 2027 and Why It Matters for Your Labels

GS1 Sunrise 2027 is the coordinated retail commitment to make point-of-sale scanners able to read 2D barcodes — QR codes built to the GS1 Digital Link standard and GS1 Data Matrix — alongside the 1D UPC and EAN codes that have run retail for 50 years. The target is the end of 2027. No government agency fines a missing 2D code on January 1, 2028; the pressure is commercial, coming from the retailers that decide whether your product gets shelf space. Major retailers across North America, Europe and Asia have publicly endorsed the GS1 Sunrise transition, and several — including Carrefour and Tesco as members of GS1 working groups, and Walmart and Target in reported pilot programs — are updating POS and supplier requirements on or ahead of that timeline.

For a brand, the practical line is this: by the end of 2027 your key retail customers’ checkouts must be able to read a 2D symbol. Your existing 1D barcode is not banned and will keep working through a long dual-marking period expected to run past 2030. But if you want the consumer engagement, traceability and serialization that a 2D code unlocks — or if a specific retailer makes 2D a listing condition — 2027 is the start line, not a cliff. Sunrise 2027 2D barcode labels are an artwork and print-specification job long before they are an IT job, and that is exactly where a label converter earns its place.

Who Needs to Act: Brands, Importers and Contract Packers

The pressure to carry a 2D code sits with the brand owner — the name on the pack — and flows down the supply chain to licensees, manufacturers, importers and distributors when the brand has no US presence. This is not a government obligation; it is a retailer expectation that shows up in vendor manuals, listing agreements and replenishment specs. If you import private-label or branded product under your own name, you are the party that needs to plan the artwork change, even if a co-packer prints the labels. Contract manufacturers and co-packers feel it indirectly: their customers will arrive with revised dielines and a requirement that the new symbol actually scans on the production substrate.

The categories moving first are grocery, food, beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and electronics — anywhere a retailer already manages lot-level data or anti-counterfeit serialization. Small and mid-size brands are not exempt once their products enter those same retail channels: vendor-manual language tends to follow the same retail readiness timelines as the large brands. The smart move is to treat Sunrise 2027 as a packaging-design project you schedule into your next print run, not a 2027 fire drill.

What Sunrise 2027 Means for Your Label and Packaging

A 2D barcode is not a decoration you drop in a corner. It changes three things about your label and packaging: space, contrast and substrate. GS1’s dual-marking testing — documented in the GS1 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline — produced a blunt rule: a POS-targeted QR code should sit within 50 mm of the centre of your existing linear barcode, on the same panel, so both fall inside the scanner field at once. Put it on the back face for aesthetics and you build a pack that rings up wrong at self-checkout. The symbol also needs a quiet zone of at least four modules of clear space on every side for QR, and at least one module for Data Matrix, and it must sit on a flat area away from folds, seams and embossing.

Contrast is the silent killer. Scanners read reflectance, not brand palettes: a gold QR on a cream box may please the art director and fail every scanner in the store. Dark modules on a light background — process black is safest — win. The substrate matters too: flexo on corrugate is a rougher print than a digital label run, so the symbol must be sized up and verified on the real material, not a laser proof. The same logic applies to paper bags: a QR printed on unbleached kraft with high fibre variation needs a larger module and more margin than a glossy label, and a plastic or rope handle must not intrude into the quiet zone. None of this is exotic, but it is the difference between a code that scans at speed and one that throws manual overrides at the lane.

QR Code vs Data Matrix: Which 2D Barcode Fits Your Product

Two formats are approved for Sunrise 2027, and the choice is driven by how the code will be used, not by fashion. A QR Code carrying a GS1 Digital Link URI is the consumer-facing workhorse: a shopper’s phone reads it natively, and the same code carries your GTIN plus batch, lot, expiry and a link to a live product page at the POS. A GS1 Data Matrix is the high-speed, machine-first option — compact enough for unit-dose pharma vials and electronic components, readable at very small print sizes, and built for serialized track-and-trace rather than shopper engagement.

For most consumer packaged goods — food, cosmetics, wine, retail — QR with GS1 Digital Link is the default. For pharmaceutical, healthcare and small-item industrial labeling where a smartphone scan is not the primary use case, Data Matrix earns its place. Both meet the 2027 deadline; the decision is about footprint, scanning environment and whether you need a customer to tap the pack with their phone. Either way the payload should follow GS1 Application Identifiers so the same code serves the checkout lane and your traceability system. GS1 publishes the transition guidance and the roster of supporting retailers on its Sunrise 2027 resource.

How We Produce Scannable 2D Barcode Labels

A 2D code demands more from the press than a 1D barcode ever did. At our plant the workflow starts with the data: we validate the GTIN check digit and the GS1 Application Identifiers before a single symbol is generated, because a wrong check digit points to the wrong product at scale. We then produce the code with variable data printing (VDP) — digital or serialized toner/inkjet — so each label can carry a unique serial, lot or expiry rather than one static image.

Print resolution and verification are where we add the value a brand cannot see but the scanner can. We hold the module (X-dimension) in the 0.4–0.99 mm range for POS scanning and verify the result on the actual substrate — paper label, coated carton, kraft bag or corrugated board — not a laser proof. On curved bottles we enlarge to the 20 mm minimum and confirm the quiet zone survives the wrap. Ink and coating are selected so they do not bleed or gloss over the symbol, and we run a verification scan on a production sample before the run is released. Where a customer needs a formal ISO/IEC 15415 grade report, we coordinate certified verification alongside the print run. That verification step — on the real material — is the single most overlooked item in Sunrise 2027 preparation, and it is the reason a “looks fine on screen” code fails at the lane.

A Practical Artwork Change: From 1D-Only to Dual-Marked

The following is an illustrative scenario, not a specific customer order. A mid-size cosmetics brand with a 12-SKU range carried only a 1D EAN on each carton and a separate marketing QR on the back. For Sunrise 2027 we reworked the dieline so a GS1 Digital Link QR sat within 50 mm of the EAN on the primary panel, removed the non-compliant marketing QR, and moved the consumer content into the resolved Digital Link page. The substrate was a coated paper carton, so we kept the module at 0.6 mm and verified at grade B or better on the production run.

Because the brand also sold food-adjacent gift sets, we embedded lot and best-before data in the 2D code so the same artwork would later support traceability without a second reprint. The change was one plate revision per SKU, scheduled into the normal reorder cycle rather than rushed. The lesson holds broadly: open the artwork once, design for both Sunrise 2027 and any traceability you will need, and you avoid paying for the same change twice inside eighteen months.

Sunrise 2027 Spec Table: Sizes, Quiet Zones and Contrast

Download: GS1 Digital Link Label Spec Checklist

Preparing artwork is only half the job; the other half is proving the code scans and the link persists. We packaged our internal preparation steps into a single checklist you can drop into your next print RFQ and verification log.

Download the Sunrise 2027 2D Barcode Label Spec Checklist (XLSX) — covering barcode format selection, GTIN and payload checks, minimum size and quiet zone, contrast and placement, ISO/IEC 15415 verification, resolver persistence, dual-marking, retailer mandates and FSMA 204 alignment, plus a per-SKU print-and-verify log.

Sunrise 2027 and FDA FSMA 204: Why Prepare the Artwork Once

The US FDA Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204) is a recordkeeping rule, not a print mandate — it does not require a lot code on the pack. But enforcement, originally due January 20, 2026, has been directed by Congress not to begin before July 20, 2028, which gives brands runway to do this properly instead of twice. The practical overlap is simple: a 2D symbol can carry a lot code and a date alongside the GTIN in a way a 1D barcode cannot.

If you sell foods on the FDA Traceability List, designing your Sunrise 2027 artwork to also hold lot and expiry data means one artwork change serves both initiatives. Brands that wait until late 2027 to open the dieline, then again in 2028 for traceability, pay for two plate revisions, two requalifications and two retailer approvals. Aligning the two now is a scheduling decision, not a compliance one — and it is the cheapest way to satisfy both.

FAQ

Is my 1D barcode being banned in 2027?

No. Sunrise 2027 is the year retailers’ POS systems must be able to read 2D codes. The 1D UPC/EAN keeps working, and dual-marking is expected to run past 2030.

Which is better for my product, QR or Data Matrix?

For consumer-facing CPG where a shopper may scan, QR with GS1 Digital Link is the default. For pharma, electronics and tiny items where machines scan at speed, Data Matrix fits better. Both meet the 2027 deadline.

Do I need a 2D barcode if I only sell DTC or online?

Not yet from retailers, but many platforms and traceability programs already accept or expect 2D codes, and adding one now future-proofs your packaging and supports serialization.

What size does the 2D code need to be?

GS1 UK guidance puts a working retail QR at 15×15 mm flat and 20×20 mm on curved surfaces, with module sizes around 0.4–0.99 mm. Size up for flexo on corrugate.

Does FSMA 204 require a barcode on food packaging?

No. FSMA 204 is a recordkeeping rule; the traceability lot code does not have to be printed on the pack. But carrying it in a 2D code avoids a second artwork change later.

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Get a Scannability Review Before You Reprint

If your next print run lands in 2027 or you have a retailer mandate in hand, send us the artwork and the current spec. We will review barcode placement, size and contrast, run a scannability verification on your substrate, and coordinate ISO/IEC 15415 grading if a formal report is required, then return a dual-marked dieline plus a quote for serialized 2D barcode labels. It is cheaper to fix the dieline once than to requalify it twice.