The origins of the QR code.

Recently you may have noticed a strange black and white patterned square appearing on packaging and on advertisements. These are known as QR codes and they contain a wealth of digital information that can be read by a smart phone or a QR reading device, but what exactly are they and what does QR stand for?

Well a QR code is simply a Quick Response code and they were invented in Japan, for use within the automotive industry to help track car parts before assembly. A company called Denso Wave invented the QR code and coined the phrase Quick Response code because they wanted the barcodes to be decoded at fast speeds electronically.

Barcodes have been around for a number of years and the humble black and white striped ones are still used on packaging today, this helps the supermarkets to keep a track on stock levels. However, these barcodes only have a limited data capacity (no more than 20 lines of numerical data) whereas theses new QR codes can store exponentially more data, both numerical and alphabetical, making them infinitely more versatile.

With Smart phone technology increasing year on year and the rising popularity of mobile internet, the QR code became the front runner to the problem of getting people to the information they want as quickly as possible. With today’s hectic lifestyle people want to access the information they want as quickly as possible when they are on the go, so by using an app on their smart phone, they get directed immediately to the website they want. No longer do they have to find out the website address and type it in, thanks to the QR code that chore is no more.

QR codes are starting to spring up in all kinds of places, from business cards to billboards, from bus shelters to advertising flyers.

For the small business owner, QR codes are an inexpensive and clever way to advertise their business by taking the customer directly to their website or by allowing the smart phone to link directly to their phone or email address.