About decimal encoding in QR codes

Huon Wilson wrote an article titled 10 > 64, in QR codes, about using decimal encoding to reduce QR code density. The article mentions that a QR code can contain segments in different “modes”, such as numeric, alphanumeric, binary and kanji. I didn’t know that! I had assumed that the entire QR code had to … Continue reading

Hairdresser sign

Hairdresser sign

Size: 33×33 Version: 4 Error correction: Q Mode: binary Contents: HTTP URL with short path (35 characters) This QR code leads to a page for installing a smartphone app for booking hairdresser appointments. The path is case insensitive (the server returns the same page if you try to access the URL in all uppercase), so … Continue reading

Infrastructure project sign

Infrastructure project sign

Size: 29×29 Version: 3 Error correction: Q Mode: binary Contents: HTTP URL without path (26 characters) As this URL only consists of the HTTP protocol specifier and a domain name, both of which are case insensitive, we can drop down to alphanumeric mode without hesitating. Keeping the same error correction level, that would result in … Continue reading

Dental clinic advertisement

Dental clinic advertisement

Size: 61×61 Version: 11 Error correction: M Mode: binary Contents: MECARD with physical address, email address, phone number and website URL (216 characters) This QR code, while more complex (and thus more difficult to scan) than usual ones, contains a lot of information. A mobile phone would probably suggest creating a contact entry out of … Continue reading

Tea bag tag

Tea bag tag

Size: 25×25 Version: 2 Error correction: M Contents: HTTP URL to a link shortening service that requests access to location data (18 characters) As the link shortening service uses case sensitive paths, there is no simple way to move to alphanumeric encoding. Presumably, if the link shortening used only uppercase letters, the addresses would be … Continue reading

Follow us on social media

Follow us on social media

Three in one. The top one is very dense, and the six alignment patterns (as opposed to the usual single one) stand out. Size: 53×53 Version: 9 Error correction: Q Contents: HTTP URL with path and the following query string: goback=%2Efcs_GLHD_reed+_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2_*2&trk=ncsrch_hits Because of the query string, this URL takes 110 bytes instead of 36. I’m … Continue reading

Pub menu

Pub menu

Size: 29×29 Version: 3 Error correction: M Encoding mode: bytes Contents: HTTP URL without path As this URL does not contain a path, the entire contents is case-insensitive, and could thus be rendered in alphanumeric mode. With the same error correction mode, the above QR code would fit in 25×25 modules, version 2: