Often square in shape, 2D codes can store thousands of characters and are great space-savers for companies trying to incorporate a lot of data in their barcodes with limited room for labels. The graphical look of a 2D barcode is created by different patterns of dots, squares, circles, hexagons, and other geometric shapes. In contrast, 2D barcodes incorporate both the vertical and horizontal dimensions of a code (and thus their name). Here at EIM, we often refer to a lineal barcode as a “license plate” which doesn’t mean much until you use it to access your database where you keep a lot of other information. Single dimension barcodes work well for labels with little content such as asset serial numbers or price tagging. The problem is that when you add more data to these lineal codes they get longer, eventually getting too big. The height of the bars only provides what is called “redundancy” or more real estate for easier scanning. They use a single dimension―the width of the bars and spaces―to read and decipher the code. Older “linear” bar codes resemble a picket fence (or ladder if they are positioned vertically). Two dimensional barcodes (2D) are also gaining popularity as more companies need larger storage capacities but have smaller places to put labels. Thanks to its flexible encoding features, the QR Code lets you even download links to film clips, coupons and special files. Some QR codes contain a hyperlink (like ours does above) that takes the user directly to a company’s website or to an order form page. If you are in a store, you can scan a price tag on a piece of merchandise and find out immediately who else sells it in your area and what their prices are. The phone takes a picture of this “matrix” or patterned barcode, translates the code and shows the user what information is in the barcode. The key to the QR Code is that it can be read by anyone with a Smartphone and a simple barcode reader application. Well, this isn’t a way-out piece of artwork or some new pattern for linoleum.
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