Details:
Summary:
Quick Response (QR) codes are two-dimensional barcodes. They complement printed products by adding web links to a printed page. They can contain other types of information such as contact information, event information, email messages, geographical locations, and there are more ways in which they can be used. Publishers and advertisers are using QR codes to add value to static print productions, track responses to a print ad quickly, and generate additional revenues. The increase in the use of QR codes is also due to the rise in the sales of smartphones with built-in cameras, but dependent on the scannability of the printed QR codes. Most of the existing literature focuses on how to create a QR code from an on-line generator but very little literature exists that discusses how to reproduce QR codes in a small size that remains scannable.
There are many factors that affect the scannability of a QR code. In this study, five of them were tested: data � amount in a QR code, code size, substrate color, printing process, and light condition during scanning. QR codes of three URL's with different characters were generated using the Kaywa Internet generator. Their sizes were varied incrementally from 0.1 inch to 1 inch. The QR codes were printed on seven substrates of different colors using offset and screen printing. Printed QR codes were scanned both indoor and outdoor using a Motorola Droid(tm) X2 smartphone with a built-in 8MP camera and ScanLife(tm) as the QR code reader. It was found that scannability of the QR codes was affected by data amount, code size, and print quality. With increasing data amount, decreasing code size and print quality, scannability went down. Substrate colors had little effect on � scannability of black QR codes. Light conditions during scanning only affected scannability of QR codes printed on substrates which color � appearances were more affected by the light.