QR code

A QR code, short for quick-response code, is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode invented in 1994 by Masahiro Hara of the Japanese company Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts. It features white and black squares within a square grid featuring fiducial markers on the corners, readable by imaging devices like cameras, and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. The required data is then extracted from patterns that are present in both the horizontal and the vertical components of the QR image. Whereas a barcode is a machine-readable optical image that contains information specific to the labeled item, the QR code contains the data for a locator, an identifier, and web tracking. To store data efficiently, QR codes use four standardized modes of encoding: numeric, alphanumeric, byte or binary, and kanji. Compared to standard UPC barcodes, the QR labeling system was applied beyond the automobile industry because of faster reading of the optical image and greater data-storage capacity in applications such as product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, and general marketing.

Tables

Maximum character storage capacity (40-L) Character refers to individual values of the input mode (data type). · Design › Information capacity

Numeric only

Input mode

Numeric only

Max. characters

7,089

Bits/char.

31⁄3

Possible characters, default encoding

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Alphanumeric

Input mode

Alphanumeric

Max. characters

4,296

Bits/char.

51⁄2

Possible characters, default encoding

0–9, A–Z (upper-case only), space, $, %, *, +, -, ., /, :

Binary/byte

Input mode

Binary/byte

Max. characters

2,953

Bits/char.

Possible characters, default encoding

ISO/IEC 8859-1

Kanji/kana

Input mode

Kanji/kana

Max. characters

1,817

Bits/char.

Possible characters, default encoding

Shift JIS X 0208

Input mode	Max. characters	Bits/char.	Possible characters, default encoding
Numeric only	7,089	31⁄3	0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Alphanumeric	4,296	51⁄2	0–9, A–Z (upper-case only), space, $, %, *, +, -, ., /, :
Binary/byte	2,953	8	ISO/IEC 8859-1
Kanji/kana	1,817	13	Shift JIS X 0208

· Design › Encoding › Message placement

1 = 0b0001

Mode indicator

1 = 0b0001

Description

Numeric

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0001 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 31⁄3 × charcount ]

2 = 0b0010

Mode indicator

2 = 0b0010

Description

Alphanumeric

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0010 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 51⁄2 × charcount ]

4 = 0b0100

Mode indicator

4 = 0b0100

Description

Byte encoding

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0100 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 8 × charcount ]

8 = 0b1000

Mode indicator

8 = 0b1000

Description

Kanji encoding

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[1000 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 13 × charcount ]

3 = 0b0011

Mode indicator

3 = 0b0011

Description

Structured append

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0011 : 4] [ Symbol Position : 4 ] [ Total Symbols: 4 ] [ Parity : 8 ]

7 = 0b0111

Mode indicator

7 = 0b0111

Description

ECI

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0111 : 4] [ ECI Assignment number : variable ]

5 = 0b0101

Mode indicator

5 = 0b0101

Description

FNC1 in first position

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0101 : 4] [ Numeric/Alphanumeric/Byte/Kanji payload : variable ]

9 = 0b1001

Mode indicator

9 = 0b1001

Description

FNC1 in second position

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[1001 : 4] [ Application Indicator : 8 ] [ Numeric/Alphanumeric/Byte/Kanji payload : variable ]

0 = 0b0000

Mode indicator

0 = 0b0000

Description

End of message

Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'

[0000 : 4]

Mode indicator	Description	Typical structure '[ type : sizes in bits ]'
1 = 0b0001	Numeric	[0001 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 31⁄3 × charcount ]
2 = 0b0010	Alphanumeric	[0010 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 51⁄2 × charcount ]
4 = 0b0100	Byte encoding	[0100 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 8 × charcount ]
8 = 0b1000	Kanji encoding	[1000 : 4] [ Character Count Indicator : variable ] [ Data Bit Stream : 13 × charcount ]
3 = 0b0011	Structured append	[0011 : 4] [ Symbol Position : 4 ] [ Total Symbols: 4 ] [ Parity : 8 ]
7 = 0b0111	ECI	[0111 : 4] [ ECI Assignment number : variable ]
5 = 0b0101	FNC1 in first position	[0101 : 4] [ Numeric/Alphanumeric/Byte/Kanji payload : variable ]
9 = 0b1001	FNC1 in second position	[1001 : 4] [ Application Indicator : 8 ] [ Numeric/Alphanumeric/Byte/Kanji payload : variable ]
0 = 0b0000	End of message	[0000 : 4]

Encoding modes · Design › Encoding › Message placement

0001

Indicator

0001

Meaning

Numeric encoding (10 bits per 3 digits)

0010

Indicator

0010

Meaning

Alphanumeric encoding (11 bits per 2 characters)

0100

Indicator

0100

Meaning

Byte encoding (8 bits per character)

1000

Indicator

1000

Meaning

Kanji encoding (13 bits per character)

0011

Indicator

0011

Meaning

Structured append (used to split a message across multiple QR symbols)

0111

Indicator

0111

Meaning

Extended Channel Interpretation (select alternate character set or encoding)

0101

Indicator

0101

Meaning

FNC1 in first position (see Code 128 for more information)

1001

Indicator

1001

Meaning

FNC1 in second position

0000

Indicator

0000

Meaning

End of message (Terminator)

Indicator	Meaning
0001	Numeric encoding (10 bits per 3 digits)
0010	Alphanumeric encoding (11 bits per 2 characters)
0100	Byte encoding (8 bits per character)
1000	Kanji encoding (13 bits per character)
0011	Structured append (used to split a message across multiple QR symbols)
0111	Extended Channel Interpretation (select alternate character set or encoding)
0101	FNC1 in first position (see Code 128 for more information)
1001	FNC1 in second position
0000	End of message (Terminator)

Number of bits in a length field (Character Count Indicator) · Design › Encoding › Message placement

Numeric

Encoding

Numeric

Ver. 1–9

10–26

27–40

Alphanumeric

Encoding

Alphanumeric

Ver. 1–9

10–26

27–40

Byte

Encoding

Byte

Ver. 1–9

10–26

27–40

Kanji

Encoding

Kanji

Ver. 1–9

10–26

27–40

Encoding	Ver. 1–9	10–26	27–40
Numeric	10	12	14
Alphanumeric	9	11	13
Byte	8	16	16
Kanji	8	10	12

Alphanumeric character codes · Design › Encoding › Message placement

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Space

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Character

Code

Code	Character	Code	Character	Code	Character	Code	Character	Code	Character
00	0	09	9	18	I	27	R	36	Space
01	1	10	A	19	J	28	S	37	$
02	2	11	B	20	K	29	T	38	%
03	3	12	C	21	L	30	U	39
04	4	13	D	22	M	31	V	40	+
05	5	14	E	23	N	32	W	41	-
06	6	15	F	24	O	33	X	42
07	7	16	G	25	P	34	Y	43	/
08	8	17	H	26	Q	35	Z	44