QR Code Usage in Japan

Tweet Content in this blog article is reposted courtesy of Cliffano Subagio. To see photos of the QR Codes he references, link to his original blog, shown at the end of the article.

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Some of my friends must’ve been tired listening to my constant complaining about how slow it is for Australia to adopt QR Code usage. QR Code is what I believe to be the link between print media and the web. And contrary to popular belief, I think print media is not going to die anytime soon.

I spotted the first QR Code in Melbourne in July last year. Telstra has been campaigning the use of QR Code, mostly on their products and ads. There have been few magazines using QR Code to link to some pages on their own sites. I’m predicting that this technology will become much more mainstream in Australia within the next 2-3 years, providing steady adoption of smart phones with QR Code support.

During my trip to Japan few months ago, I was amazed to find out that QR Code was used everywhere (not literally _everywhere_ of course). I started taking pictures and videos of those QR Codes to the amusement of the locals, something that’s very common to them was very new to me.

On one morning, I was walking to Ikebukuro Station via the underground pass, and I noticed a new Disney poster on the wall. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Stitch. The eyes and noses of each character are still visible within the QR Codes. I saw passers by stopping in front of the poster, scanning the codes using their mobile phones. It was so weird for me, but I’m sure, again, it’s very common to them. At that point, I wondered if I would see a similar scene in Melbourne within the next few years.

McDonald’s placed QR Codes on the soft drink cup, burger wrapper, and paper bag amongst other things. I also found QR Codes on snack food packaging, a building guide, a T-shirt tag, and a poster at a mall.

Ever thought that one day you would see a large garble of black and white dots just so you can scan it with your mobile phone? Or on a magazine. These are only a few examples where QR Codes were used as links to web pages, but bear in mind that it can be used for many things other than for storing URLs, like nutritional info of a sandwich. I’m excited to see more uses of QR Code in Australia. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll see one on a coffee cup at a cafe in Melbourne.

Courtesy of http://blog.cliffano.com/2009/05/18/qr-code-usage-in-japan/


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Advantages of QR Codes
Capacity
Unlike barcodes with information only in one direction, the QR Code is a two-dimensional code with information stored on the vertical and horizontal direction. As a result, the QR Code can hold up to 7089 Numeric data, 4296 Alphanumeric data, and 2953 Binary data. Compared to barcodes that can only hold approximately 20 digits, the QR Code is far superior to the traditional barcodes.

Footprint
QR Codes can hold the same amount of information as traditional bar codes but in one-tenth of the space it takes for barcodes. For an even smaller printout size, there are Micro QR Codes available. The symbol size ranges from 21×21 (Version 1) to 177×177 (Version 40) and grows by 4 modules/side. Dirt and Damage Resistant QR Codes can be restored even if the symbol is damaged or dirty. Up to a maximum of 30% of the data can be restored.

Readability
QR Codes can be read in any direction thanks to the position detection patterns. These patterns are located on three corners of the symbol and it helps reduce background interference. In addition, a single QR Code can be divided into multiple data areas then reconstructed as a single symbol when needed. This allows the user to print up to 16 symbols in a more narrow printing area.

Standardization and Use
On June 2000, The QR Code standardization received approval from ISO International. The QR Code System can be generated using QR Code Printers and software to generate the code. There are scanners that are designed for a variety of applications. Cellular phones are the most common form of QR Code scanners used in Asia as teens capture QR Code information from posters of their favourite Rock Star’s upcoming concert to advertisements on the Subway. The uses for QR Codes are limitless, groceries stores print it on their receipts, marketers print it on their ads to increase interest, and stores print it in their ads to generate maps and hours of operations.

Disclaimer: Information used for the blog post was drawn from the website http://www.qrcode.com/ developed by Denso Wave. Please visit their site for more information.