Small is the new BIG

Tweet Rethink how you link to your customers. Small is the new BIG. One small code can contain so much more than meets the eye! Two dimensional bar codes are an old technology that’s finding new purpose in mobile communication. As we watch the trends, we take technology, reinvent it and in the process, keep you one step ahead of the competition. Click on the following link “Get QR Software” and you will be taken to the FREE reader download site. (You can access the same link from your cell phone as well.) Download this free software to your phone by following the on-screen instructions. Now launch the reader on your cell phone, point your mobile camera at the desired two dimensional bar code and the content will be instantly delivered to your phone in a matter of seconds. It’s that easy!

In order to better understand how we have advanced the functionality of QR Codes, we want to start with a brief history of the code’s origins. QR-Codes are a two dimensional barcode that is designed to have its contents decoded at a high speed, allowing for accuracy in link recognition and convenient functionality. The acronym QR is derived from the term Quick Response. QR Codes were created by the Japanese company Denso Wave in 1994 as a way to track parts in vehicle manufacturing. Other industries began seeing how useful they were and started adapting the technology for their own use. From that point, mobile phone companies saw the potential in this technology and came up with QR code readers so that cell phone users could read these codes right from their phones.

Two dimensional bar codes have come a long way from their original usage in vehicle manufacturing. They are now starting to be used in convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging). Two dimensional bar codes storing addresses and URLs have appeared in magazines, on signs, business cards, billboards, even coffee mugs and t-shirts - just about any object that your customer might need information about. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader software can capture the image of the two dimensional bar code and link instantly to a programmed URL. This URL can be a web address, a link to download an MP3, dial a telephone number, or auto-fill your email client with a sender address. Two dimensional bar codes are only as effective as their underlying application. How do I generate unique, application specific two dimensional bar codes? Where does the two dimensional bar code link take me? How do I manage what's at the other end of that link? Who actually responded by using the two dimensional bar codes? At AccuLink, we have the answers to these questions and more.

Did you know there are more mobile phones than TVs and computers combined in the US today? Gives a whole new meaning to personalized customer interaction!

To see our latest ad in the September '09 issue of Print Solutions magazine, click on the following link:

Print Solutions ’09 AccuLink Ad