Traditional (1-dimensional) Barcodes

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The traditional linear barcode is used to store information, and can commonly be seen on the packages of products found in supermarkets. The image of a barcode is in every household, on most store-bought items.

Traditional barcodes are not commonly understood by the general public. For many, traditional barcodes appear to be just an ugly image on packaging, used for scanning the item at the till.

What is QR Code?

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Traditional linear barcodes are 1-dimensional, whereas QR codes are 2-dimensional matrix codes. “QR” is an abbreviation of “Quick Response”, because the code can be decoded at high speed. QR codes can contain between a dozen and a few hundred times more information than linear barcodes.

QR code is also referred to as Kaywa code.

QR Code Becomes Publicly Accessible

QR codes quickly gained popularity in Japan, and have now spread to Europe and the US. By photographing the QR code image with a mobile phone and decoding it, a person can follow the information within the code to a company website or simply receive a short message. It is a way to instantly access information without needing to find a computer.

Many mobile phones are now being equipped with QR decoding software. The software can also be downloaded online.

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Marketing

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The movie, “28 Weeks Later” used QR code to publicize the movie. Once photographed and decoded, the QR code revealed a link to the 28 Weeks Later website.

(The site offers a nifty encoding and decoding function to create or read a QR code.)

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Combined with an AVIN code (A unique code for each wine, similar to an ISBN book code), wine makers are supplying QR codes with their wine. Decoding the QR image reveals a website address which a person can follow to read more about the wine, the wine-making process or to find out about special offers.

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QR code has been used here by a realtor, to reveal a website link with more information on the sale of the house.

QR Code in Art

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The QR code used in these earrings reveals a web link to a Wikipedia article on gratitude. Read more about the concept behind the jewelry at http://ssbxfab.org/?p=94

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This urban art sticker of a QR code reveals a phrase in Japanese, which roughly translates to “Doing nothing, just hanging around. That’s the hardest work of all.” We may begin to see more and more coded messages, in stencil or on stickers, appearing around the world as urban artists express their opinions on life through this code.

Will Traditional Barcodes be Replaced by QR Code?

Traditional barcodes are suited to their particular task, and it is doubtful that QR code will replace traditional barcodes any time soon. The powerful squares of code are bound to appear more frequently in magazines and on billboards, as an interactive advertising medium.

Perhaps in the future, QR codes will also be used to instantly reveal detailed information on products in supermarkets.

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