QR codes, or quick response codes, were released in Japan in the mid-1990s due to the need to increase the amount of information and barcode capabilities. Originally created by a subsidiary of Toyota, they quickly spread in the Asian country, and finally in June 2000, the industry approved the international standard ISO, which has been regulating them ever since.

They soon became the most popular 2D code existing and today are massively used worldwide, in vertical industries, enterprise or consumer and for all types of applications. We use them every day, but like other technologies, we certainly haven’t stopped to think about what they are all about, their technical characteristics, their main uses, access to them or the basic way of their creation. We will try to update you in this post.

What are QR codes?

Like any other barcode, QR has a purpose store information on a readable optical label some type of machine or device. To do this, they contain a two-dimensional dot matrix in a square format, commonly in black and white (although colors also exist) and with three squares in the corners that allow the reader used to detect the position of the code.

The information capacity they can contain is defined by levels according to the number of modules that make up the matrix: from level I with 21 x 21 modules to level 10, which can include a whopping 177 x 177 modules. The most common QR codes for consumption are those of 25×25 and 29×29ideal for their balance between size and information storage capacity.

Although the vast majority of modules are produced in black and white, the standard allows for some flexibility in adding additional colors. In these cases, colors must maintain sufficient contrast between light and dark to continue to be readable by systems and code readers.

They may also include graphic modifications to make them more attractive and personalized. For example, including images of a person that can be used in personal information codes such as business cards. Or as a disease or allergy warning that can be read by health professionals or security forces in the event of an accident or emergency. Finally, the use of embedded texts is another extension to generics due to the redundancy of information based on error correction Reed-Solomon counting on it.

As for their placement, you’ll see them in any kind of material that the device arrives to digitize, from a piece of paper, to cardboard, to a piece of fabric. Or giant size on the facade of a building. And not only in physical form, but also virtually on the web.

What is it used for?

The use of these 2D codes is very wide and can be found anywhere, printed on the packaging of the product; on a business card; at a restaurant table; in supermarket; in the museum; in the field of cryptographic currencies; in advertisements or in medicine for information about certain diseases.

Because they can store different types of information, QR codes are used for many purposes. Among others:

• As a simple text, for example for welcome messages at conferences.
• Addresses: personal address, business address, etc.
• Phone numbers: personal or business phone number.
• Email addresses: personal or business accounts.
• URLs with addresses of specific web pages or web pages.
• Links to apps, such as those to Google Play or the Apple App Store.
• Payments: QR codes can store your bank account or credit card information.
• Online account verification. Websites may display a QR code that the registered user scans with their smartphone and is automatically logged in.
• Wi-Fi authentication. QR codes can be used to store wireless network authentication details such as SSID, password, and encryption type.
• Passwords for two-step verification. A growing group of websites and apps are using 2FA authentication to set up security.
• Other various uses. For example, marketing; see the restaurant menu; in the management of virtual currencies or even funerary uses, which in Japan (and other countries) are part of tombstones that link to websites containing information about the deceased. As grim as it is useful…

How are they used?

Their first use in Japan was the registration of spare parts in car factories, and today they are used massively in all types the inventory management industry, as well as in marketing programs, customer assistance programs or simply to include the company’s visual identity. However, the inclusion of software capable of reading QR codes and the explosion of mobile phone sales have ensured massive use in consumption as well.

We’ve seen this during the pandemic included in “Covid passports” or simply digitizing a restaurant’s menu, avoiding contact with a physical menu and reducing the risk of transmission in the community. Advanced tools like Offer fewer contacts By scanning QR codes, it allows you not only to view different products, but also to directly generate an order, just as we would do in e-commerce.

If in the beginning they needed fixed or handheld industrial devices to read the codes, today almost any electronic device, PC, tablet or wearable device can be used, although what greatly facilitated its use was the impressive deployment smart phones.

In fact, its most common use today (aside from the industrial segment) is to use a smartphone camera to scan a code and specialized software to translate it. Many smartphone manufacturers offer their own native solutions, and there are dozens of third-party solutions in the official Play Store for Android or the App Store for iPhones. For example, on Android we like Kaspersky Reader and Scanner, while for iOS this free one from TapMedia works very well.

All you have to do is point your smartphone camera at the QR code matrix and the app you’re using will do the restgenerally in consumption to link to a website, location map, email, social network profile or anything else.

How to generate QR codes?

As you may have read, the capabilities of QR codes go far beyond the typical industrial use that is made with a product barcode. There are different platforms and tools to create your own QR that can achieve many of the uses we’ve listed, from a website to a quote or a business card.

We will tell you about them in this practical article. On some platforms, using it is as simple as choosing the content your code will have, customizing and designing it, and downloading it in different formats so you can print or view it digitally. These specialized services add the ability to create dynamic and editable QR codes; analysts

Very interesting are these QR codes that are everywhere today and that have become a preferred method of information storage and distributionwith the possibility of digitization from media as widespread as smartphones.