Quiet Zones should always match the colour used for the barcode’s spaces (typically white) and nothing at all should be printed in these areas.
On the EAN-13 barcode, the first digit of the GTIN shows how much space is required on the left-hand side. On the right-hand side of the symbol, you sometimes see a little arrow called the Quiet Zone indicator which also shows how much space is required. This indicator is optional but is recommended as it helps safeguard the righthand Quiet Zone.
Resizing
It’s important to remember that the Quiet Zones of any barcode will vary in proportion when the barcode size is altered.
As the Quiet Zone is crucial to ensuring the barcode scans properly, it is recommended that you add a couple of millimetres extra on each side of the zone to accommodate any variation in printing.
The size of the quiet zones required differs for each barcode symbol and is dependent on how big the barcode is printed.
Take a look at the symbol specification tables in Section 5 of the General Specifications for further details.