Printing of the ISSN

The ISSN consists of the acronym ISSN followed by two groups of four digits, separated by a hyphen, for example ISSN 0780-4784. The ISSN contains no information about the publisher, the country or the language of publication.

NB! More information on printing of the ISSN-L, the linking ISSN

Printed publications

The ISSN number should be printed in a prominent position in each volume or issue of the publication, either on the front cover, on the title page, in the publisher's imprint (editor's box) or on the back cover.

For a periodical the recommended location for printing the ISSN is on the top right-hand corner of the cover. However, the ISSN may also be printed in another prominent place mentioned above.

Electronic publications

On a CD-ROM the ISSN is placed on the first display, on the disc label and on the CD case.

As for online publications, the ISSN is placed on the homepage or the first display of the publication, preferably close to the title. An ISSN should not be placed with single articles.

In addition to displaying an eye-readable ISSN on the publication, it is recommended that a meta tag containing the ISSN is placed within the head section of HTML, where search services most easily locate it.

If the publication is issued both in print and online formats, the ISSN of both are displayed on both versions as follows:

ISSN-L 0781-7915
ISSN 0781-7915 (Print)
ISSN 1239-6540 (Online)

ISSN and URN

The ISSN for monographic series

As well as being assigned an ISSN the individual titles of a monographic series (e.g. dissertation series) usually carry the standard book number ISBN. In this case both identifiers are printed one below the other on the verso of the title page and on the back cover. For example:

ISBN 978-952-214-718-9
ISSN-L 0015-5543
ISSN 0015-5543

If a publication belongs to two or more series, the ISSN is printed as follows:

ISSN-L 0784-8765
ISSN 0784-8765 = Kulttuuri ja viestintä
ISSN-L 0787-5584
ISSN 0787-5584 = Joukkoviestintätilasto

Even if the ISSN has been included in the EAN barcode, it must also be printed separately on the publication.