QR Code Resources Center

QR or Quick Response codes enable print and web mobile media to work together. With any smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc.) enabled with a QR Reader app (free software that can be downloaded) you can click a picture of the QR code and it will launch your smartphone’s browser and take you to whatever URL is embedded within the code. QR codes were invented in 1994 by the Japanese corporation Denso Wave, and originally designed to track parts in vehicle production. Because of its 2 dimensional design it is capable of encoding up to 7,089 characters. This is far more data than a typical one dimensional bar code such as the standard UPC symbol. A QR code can therefore encode any web address no matter the length of the URL.

Here are a few examples of how QR codes can be used in your print media:

• A realtor can place a QR code on the printed information sheet outside of a home for sale. A prospective buyer can snap a picture of the QR code which contains a URL taking the user to a YouTube video featuring a virtual tour of the home.

• At a scientific conference poster session, a scientist could place a QR code on their poster containing a URL leading directly to a PDF of the poster so as colleagues reviewed the poster’s content they could also save a PDF to their phone and email it to colleagues not in attendance.

• An online retailer can send out postcards in a direct marketing campaign that would include a QR code containing a URL to an interior page on their site containing a discount or a promotion only available via the QR code. This would drive mobile customers to the promotion with the additional benefit of allowing measurement of the effectiveness of the postcard campaign.

• A manufacturer of equipment could use QR codes in their instruction manuals that would have direct links to their website or YouTube highlighting “how to” videos complementing the information in the manual.

It is clear that QR codes are incredibly versatile and are only limited by your imagination. QR codes can encode a static URL or can also be dynamic in nature.

To obtain a free QR code scanner or create a QR code, visit http://www.i-nigma.com/hp.html