5.1.2 GS1 Digital Link: connecting a physical item to online data

GS1 Digital Link extends a GTIN from a number that identifies a product to a web address that resolves to information about it. In practice, a 2D barcode, typically a QR code or a data matrix, is encoded with a GS1 Digital Link: a structured web URL with the product’s GTIN embedded in it, and optionally additional identifiers such as a batch, lot, or serial number appended for finer granularity. Scanning the code does not just identify the product; it opens a live web resource, which is what allows a single GS1 Digital Link to serve care instructions to a consumer, compliance documentation to a regulator, and material specifications to a recycler, all from the same physical code.

The mechanism that makes this possible is the resolver, introduced briefly in Chapter 3. A resolver does not store product information itself; it is a routing layer that redirects a scan to the correct source, based on who is asking and what they are asking for. This is what allows a brand to update or add information sources over time (a new sustainability report, a seasonal promotion, a revised care guide) without reprinting a single label, since the code encodes the identifier, not a fixed destination.

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