Comments on: There are Barcodes and then there are Barcodes!

By: Michael J

Michael J — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:23:21 +0000

Perhaps someone can shed some light on the following:

Yesterday I received two mailing with what look like QR codes between the FIM and the printed indicias. One was from Wachovia/WellsFargo. The other was from JP Morgan Chase.
The one from JP Morgan was not printed correctly, by the way.

As far as I can tell this must be a QR for internal use. There is no message to the consumer.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:35:48 +0000

This should be the year.

If Oce is demonstrating QR at Print 09, I have to believe that InfoPrint will do the same. They have RicohInnovations in an outfit called iCandy that is all about the QR code.

Meanwhile Goss has GossRSVP and T Mobile is competing against ATT with G phone and I Phone. Any advantage that either can get should find a buyer. It should be an interesting Print 09 and coming year.

By: Lindsay Gray

Lindsay Gray — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:36:56 +0000

Thanks Michael,
You and I are looking through the same glass. As I mentioned on a post in Printjunkie.net – “That light we see in the tunnel is definitely a train and not daylight”. It is just a matter of time before this hits the US with the same impact Japan and others have felt for years!

By: Michael J

Michael J — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:29:45 +0000

Guy,
Thank you for the info.

Are there any metrics or work being done on the speed and reliability of QR? I would think that the pieces might be out there to get to production scales and speeds.

By: Guy Broadhurst

Guy Broadhurst — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:37:06 +0000

Thanks for the great questions and points raised. First of all I’m sorry that I didn’t mention QR codes directly in my article, a definite oversight!
Anyway QR codes are easily printed on the high-speed JetStream product family that Oce produces/sells and in fact we are today and will be demonstrating at PRINT09 QR codes being printed and getting you to real websites that will provide more information if needed.
Its an interesting point that QR codes are less prone to poor printing and a lot more readable, however, it is important to remember that scanners (etc) need to be able to read and record the information from the QR codes at speeds over 500 feet a minute and more likely at 1000 feet a minute, so for us quality and accuracy are of prime concern and as customers decide that they can be implemented once their systems are ready we are already positioned to print them and give them the best results possible.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:47:44 +0000

Lindsay,
It never occurred to me that print pieces without QR codes could become somewhat obsolete. That makes so much sense.

From 30,000 feet we know that the value is the network. The iPhone is worth more because of the network created by the AppStore. The kindle is worth the money because it’s connected to the network of available books. Both are clear examples of how an easily reproduced commodity is worth much more in the marketplace because it gives access to the network. It also turns out that the network is the defensible value.

Closer to the ground, if you had a choice between a newspaper with connections to videos and one that didn’t why wouldn’t you choose the one that does. Or if one printer offered “clickable postcards” and another did not. Or if one FSI company did and another didn’t. Or POD books. Or…….

I’ll stop for now, but once the issue is seen through the lens of Smart Print and Dumb Print, the possible apps become much more clear.

By: Lindsay Gray

Lindsay Gray — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:08:02 +0000

Michael,
I’m with you. I think QR codes will have a profound impact on the printing industry (for those of us who envision useful applications). In essence QR codes make printed pieces without QR codes somewhat obsolete. Hence, more demand for print. My business card has a QR code on it if that is any indication of where I am coming from.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:12:34 +0000

Christopher,
Thank you for the information. Since I have no hands on experience, just what I read in the papers, I would like to impose on the viewers here to ask three more questions.

1. Given that 2D and QR in particular can be resolved by a PC camera or a smart phone without the need for special scanning devices, do you think it’s reasonable to expect that the mass market opportunity is much greater.

My impression is that bar codes have grown in the process control industry. When everyone is walking around with a scanner in their pockets I think I’m seeing a way to connect Print to the internet in very new and profitable ways. My personal interest is in managing the process of education. But I have to believe that there should be many opportunities in health and public administration.

2. Regarding the issue of filling in. Assuming that print process is under control, is it accurate to say that if a proof works, the run of the job will be acceptable.

3. I think, but don’t know for sure, that any of the digital printing devices have enough resolution to print stable QR codes.

By: Christopher French

Christopher French — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:57:23 +0000

Micheal,

While there are many technical improvements with 2D bar codes that make scanning more rebust (data redundancy, error correction), there a an equal number of issues that make scanning potentially more difficult. Here are a list of the common types of problems we have seen:
1. Modules grow and partially fill-in empty space modules (occurs with both laser or inkjet)
2. Too much information is packing into too small a space resulting in a module size that can not be printed with the resolution of the printing device
3. Using bar code sub-types that are no longer supported. Model 1 QR codes are not supported by many scanners (and are not supported by ISO), yet many front end software programs will allow you to print Model 1 codes for legacy systems. Model 2 is the current version.

2D bar codes are very good and offer a great new set of applications that linear can not address but at the same time there is a whole host of new issues that must be addressed to ensure scannable bar codes.

By: Michael J

Michael J — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:21:36 +0000

Guy,

I’m curious if you have any thoughts about how 2D QR codes fit. It seems to me that because they are “photographed” instead of scanned as are the traditional 2D codes that many of these issues go away.

This could mean that 2D codes can move from facilitating information exchange in retail and logistics to a mass market. With QR every smart phone becomes a scanner. Every printed piece can be scanned and thus taken to the web or to “personal TV” on the flat screen on the smartphone, the classroom or the living room.

As “smart” QR such as CodeZ QR come to market, this should also mean that information exchanges could be tied to detailed client/customer information to create rich searchable clickstreams from interaction with print.