QUESTION: What is a QR symbol (QR code)?

ANSWER: The QR symbol (QR code) is a 2D (two-dimensional) symbology that is being used increasingly for applications related to advertising, marketing, and product promotion. QR codes are also used for commercial tracking applications.

QR stands for "Quick Response." The QR code's format is designed to enable rapid reading; its "finder pattern" of nested alternating dark and light squares at three corners of the symbol makes this possible.

A QR code


As explained, a QR code is a two-dimensional symbol. Contrast this with other kinds of bar codes we see in our daily lives — many of them are "one-dimensional" bar codes. That is: the marks that make up the bar code are arranged in one row (one dimension), usually the horizontal dimension. An example is the UPC bar code format. We see UPC bar codes on product packaging in retail stores.


A UPC bar code


How can you put QR codes on your documents?

The process of putting QR codes on your documents isn't as straightforward as putting one-dimensional bar codes on your documents.

Let's compare the two processes.

In most situations, to put a one-dimensional bar code on a document, you just need to type the information to be represented (or somehow generate that information automatically), and you need to format that information with the proper bar-code font. The software you're using does the rest. For example, you might be using Microsoft Word.

The procedure for putting a QR Code on a document is different and more complicated than what we've just described, for two reasons:

  • Since a QR Code is two-dimensional, you can't represent the information in it with just one line of characters in your document.

  • The relationship between the marks that make up the QR Code and the information that those marks represent is more complex than the relationship between the marks that make up a one-dimensional bar code and the information that the bar code represents.

The free service at www.qrcode-tiger.com/how-to-use-qr-codes-on-flyers-and-brochures enables you to put QR Codes on documents.

If you want more control over the process, you can purchase variable-data-printing software such as PrintShop Mail.


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