QR Code Wizard, Author at eQRCodes.com

How To Apply For An Amazon GTIN Exemption

QR Code Wizard — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 11:21:41 +0000

How To Apply For An Amazon GTIN Exemption

Why should you apply for an Amazon GTIN Exemption?

Applying for an Amazon GTIN Exemption allows you to sell products on Amazon with your own branding/private-labels or selling handmade products. This makes it perfect if you’re using QR Codes on your products, and want to share your codes through avenues like Amazon. Want to get started with making a QR Code? Head over to our beginner walkthrough! We offer a QR Code Generator designed for business use, which allows for custom QR Code generation, customization, and distribution.

What is a GTIN? What about UPCs?

So, what exactly is a GTIN? What about UPC and ISBN? These are all important to know if you’re getting into the business of selling products. Let’s first get started with a GTIN. It’s short for Global Trade Item Number, which identifies products, and is usually affixed to the barcode.

A UPC is similar, and a Universal Product Code, which acts as an identifier (for physical products). It consists of two parts, unlike the GTIN. A Barcode and a unique number string underneath.

An ISBN is a similar concept, but specifically for books and usually incorporates the publication date somehow. A GTIN Exemption let’s you sell products on Amazon without having one of those unique codes, which allows for private-labels.

Things to remember:

Whilst GTIN Exemptions are an easy way to sell products on Amazon without an identification number of sorts, it’s usually recommended only as a short-term strategy to sell non-barcoded products.

Amazon also has a list of brands that require a GTIN no matter the circumstance. Exemptions are not allowed for these products, so if you’re selling products from another business or manufacturer, check first if they already require a GTIN for selling.

When applying for an Amazon GTIN Exemption, ensure that the brand name you’re planning to sell is an exact match, otherwise it might result in your application being rejected. Also, images must be real-world pictures. Finally, the branding or QR Code you’re using must be permanently affixed to the product you’re planning to sell.

Requirements to apply for an Amazon GTIN Exemption

Not sure when to apply for a GTIN exemption? Amazon has a list of scenarios on their website, which contain some situations where the exemption is handy.

When you want to sell products where the brand, publisher, or manufacturing company doesn’t already provide a GTIN.
If you want to private-label products, or hand-made products—for example, having your own identification on the product, such as a QR Code.
You want to sell a product that uses generic naming/doesn’t have a brand name.
Selling parts for a product that doesn’t have a GTIN. For example, car/vehicle parts.
Selling items in bundles, as you can’t have a GTIN that covers all the products.

How do you start applying for a GTIN Exemption?

Here are all the steps to get started to apply for a GTIN exemption.

First of all, you want to head over to the “Apply for a GTIN Exemption” page on Amazon. You’ll need to have a Seller Account on Amazon. Need to sign up for an Amazon Seller account? Head over to here. You’ll need to have a chargeable card, identification, and a business or at least list your place of residence.
Assuming you have an Amazon Seller Account, and you’ve opened the “Apply for a GTIN Exemption” page, it’ll ask you for details for your product. Click the “select” button, and then select the relevant category for your product. The page should look something like this:

3. Next, you’ll want to write in the Brand/Publisher for the product you want to be selling. For example, if it’s a Generic-branded product, put in “Generic.” If it’s a product manufactured/made by your own company, put that in.

Pro Tip! You can actually apply for multiple exemptions at once—which goes up to 10. You can simply just click the + Add More Brands/Publishers link. It isn’t limited to just one category either! You can click the +Add More Categories link, too.

4. All finished with adding in the products you want to apply for an exemption for? All you need to do now is click the giant “Check for eligibility” button at the bottom of the page. If you’re eligible to apply for a GTIN exemption, you’ll be able to continue the process, and Amazon will ask for proof.

5. From here, you’ll need to apply proof of the product. This includes providing Amazon with the product name, as well as uploading images of the product—this will need to be repeated for every product you’re putting in the application… Then just click Submit request! Applying for an Amazon GTIN Exemption is just that easy!

Wondering how long approval takes?

You’ll receive an email regarding the approval status of your GTIN exemption within 48 hours of the submitted request. Don’t check your emails often? The approval status is also made viewable in your case log for the request. Amazon is quite quick to respond, so don’t stress!

If you’re trying to build your own branding, or add your own QR Codes for identification and marketing reasons—applying for a GTIN Exemption is a must. The process is quite simple and straightforward. We wish you the best of luck! Not sure where to get started with adding QR Codes to your products? Or why? Check out our post on how and why to add QR Codes to your product labels!

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post How To Apply For An Amazon GTIN Exemption appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

How To Use QR Codes To Boost Instagram Interaction

QR Code Wizard — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 20:15:32 +0000

How To Use QR Codes To Boost Instagram Interaction

QR Codes have been seeing a huge growth in use the past few years, with statistics showing it is growing exponentially. They can be used in almost any industry, from the medical field to teaching—but what about for social media influencers?

Instagram is easily one of the biggest social media apps, with more than 1 billion users using the app every month! If you aren’t using it to sell products, or promote a service—you should be! Instagram even supports business accounts, so you can advertise your products on the platform. Whether it be clothes, specialized tools, or even just yourself!

Instagram’s algorithm and data also ensures that your ads will reach the right audience. However, first of all—you need to grow followers. So, how exactly can QR Codes help with this? It can make it easier for people to find your Instagram account, and can be used for promotional materials and Instagram marketing events.

Data and statistics show that QR Codes are becoming and everyday normality. You won’t need to worry about if someone will scan them or not. For a deeper dive into the usage and growth of QR Codes, you should check out Scanova’s in-depth look into QR Codes. Looking for a place to start creating QR Codes? Our QR Code Generator is a great place to start!

Sharing Your Account

The easiest way to use a QR Code to boost your Instagram interactions and followers is to have the code link directly to your account! With our QR Code Generator, you can create a basic QR Code that lets you link to any URL-including an Instagram Account! Check out our guide here.

Now… Where could you share these QR Codes? You want to put the QR Codes linking to your Instagram Account in places to find potential followers. The best way to do this is placing the QR Code in Instagram Posts, and your other Social Media accounts! Do you run a Twitter or Facebook that repost your Instagram content? You can put the QR Code in your art or photos, so people can instantly scan it and then follow your Instagram account!

Running a company or business Instagram Account? Here are some ideas!

Running a company or business Instagram account? QR Codes can be a great way to nab potential customers and clients! For example, do you hand out business cards? You could put a scannable QR Code on the card, which allows people to instantly jump onto your Instagram account, allowing them to instantly follow and DM you!

Here are a few other ideas:

Adding QR Codes to your company or business websites and fliers.
Putting QR Codes into any poster designs that you share with clients, or put around your office/store.
Running business/company events with QR Codes that link to your Instagram account.

It doesn’t have to be a plain-looking QR Code, either! You can get really creative, and change up the colors of your QR Code or event add photos! That way, you can make the QR Code look consistent with your Instagram Account’s aesthetic and branding.

So, how do you create a QR Code that links to your Instagram Account?

Before jumping into how to create a simple Instagram-linking QR Code, do you know all the other things you can use it for? You should give our creative uses for QR Codes article a read! You don’t have to limit your growth with just Instagram. Use QR Codes to boost all facets of your company and brand! From getting more newsletter sign-ups, marketing promo interactions, and more.

So, where do you begin with creating a QR Code? First of all, you want to head over to our Code Generator on our home page. The website interface should look like this:

At the top, there are a few tab options: “URL, Text, Email, Phone…” You will want to click the URL tab. This will let you attach any URL to the QR Code. So, when a user scans the code using their phone/camera app, it’ll open the URL for them using their default browser, or app (in this case, Instagram).

From here, you’ll want to find your Instagram Profile’s URL. This can simply be found by going to your Instagram profile on a web browser. It typically looks like “https://instagram.com/username-here/”. Now it’s all set! You can generate the QR Code, print it out and/or share it!

Don’t forget, you can style your QR code, too. You can change the colors, add photos, and even play with the sizing options.

What else can you use it for?

Do you sell physical products? Did you know, you could actually incorporate QR Codes into the design, like with the Converse shoe pictured above! You could have this QR Code link to your Instagram, so customers can easily find your Social Media accounts and message you!

The possibilities of use case for QR Codes are nearly endless, with your creativity being the only limit. Are you someone that changes your QR Codes often? You can even create dynamic QR Codes just in case you ever need to change the URL the code links to.

QR Codes are one of the most versatile tools a business or marketing event can use. It’s stronger than your old plain poster, or pen and paper. It can be a quick way to link with clients, or connect with consumers, as well as quickly share contact information. Along with this, it can be an invaluable tool at your disposal for collecting statistics and data. We even offer statistic tracking tools, so you can see how many people have scanned your QR Code! If you want to get started, and grow your business exponentially with these codes, click the button down below!

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post How To Use QR Codes To Boost Instagram Interaction appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

How Your Hotel Can Use QR Codes to Simplify WiFi

QR Code Wizard — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 19:30:32 +0000

How Your Hotel Can Use QR Codes to Simplify WiFi

Why Should You Use QR Codes For Your Hotel?

QR Codes have been rising in use around the world, but how exactly can it be used for hotels and hospitality businesses? The codes are nifty and quick to generate, but how can you apply it to real-life scenarios? Aside from the obvious, like check-ins or being a way to deliver information, QR Codes can be extremely useful for hotels.

Sick of guests calling up asking for the WiFi code? Or they’re having trouble connecting? QR Codes can be used to hold WiFi network information, which allows guests to connect simply by scanning them! Our guide will help you through setting up a QR Code for sharing WiFi networks for businesses. The best part? It takes a few simple steps to set up, and you can reuse the same code!

Do you need an account?

Click the above button to get taken to our Account page. Here, you can log into our system if you’re already registered with us, or sign-up to create a new account! It’s straightforward, put in your email, and then we’ll send you through a new password. You can also make an account on the QR Code Generator page itself.

Familiarizing yourself with the QR Code Generator

First of all, you’ll want to head over to our QR Code Generator. Here, you’ll find all our QR Code generation tools, from color and styling options, to the data you want the QR code to link to. This is where all the QR Code Generation will be taking place. If you just want to make a basic QR Code, we have a guide for that, too.

What are all the different tabs?

The first thing you will probably notice are all the different tabs up top: URL, Text, Email, etc. These are just the different options you can choose to have your QR Code linked to. In this guide, we’ll want to make a WiFi QR Code. So go over and click the WiFi tab.

Once you head over to the WiFi tab, the QR Code Generator User Interface should look like this.

As you can see, we clicked the WiFi tab. This will bring up new options/forms to put in the data for the WiFi network you want the QR Code to link to. There should be an option for the WiFi network device’s SSID and Password (if there is any).

We will show you an example of a WiFi Network set-up in the next image.

For this test QR Code, we’ve put in “WiFi-Link_012384” as the SSID name, and then !Test14 as the password. We’ve also selected the encryption for the password as WPA/WPA2.

Not sure what SSID is? SSID stands for Service Set Identifier. It’s the ID for your specific WiFi network device, and is crucial for setting up a WiFi Network QR Code. This helps the user’s device (phone, laptop, etc) find the right WiFi network and connect to it. If you’re working at the hotel and have access to the physical WiFi router, manufacturers usually place a sticker with the SSID on there.
The password form just requires you to put in the password for the network. This might be a default password set up by the manufacturer, or set by the business. Passwords can also be in two formats typically: WEP, and WPA/WPA2.
To select the password encryption, click the last button, which will bring up a drop-down menu. From here, you can select either “none”, “WEP” or “WPA/WPA2”.

If you need any help, we offer support.

Now it's time to test the QR Code. How do you export it?

Amazing question! The easiest way to check if your QR Code is working correctly, is to generate it and scan it with a phone for testing.

On your page with the QR Code Generator opened, you’ll want to head over to the right side of the user-interface, where your QR Code is. Here, you’ll find the buttons “generate” and “download (PNG)”.

You’ll want to click the buttons in that order. This will generate the most updated QR Code with your recent settings and form options. Then, clicking download will let you export it as an image file to share, or print out physically.

However, if you just want to quickly test it, you can just hit “generate” and scan the code from your screen with your testing device.

If you have an account with us: You can also save the QR Code under a name, and track the statistics.

You can style the QR Code! How do you change the color and size?

On the QR Code Generator page, you’ll see these drop-down tabs with options for styling your code. Each one will have different options to change different elements of your QR Code. For example, let’s look at the different frame options.

As you can see in our screenshot above, we have selected the second frame option and added in the frame text: “Open your camera!” You’ll also see a live preview of your QR Code on the right-hand side of our generator tool that lets you live preview the changes. Before we move on to generating or downloading the QR Code, let’s take a quick look at another example. Here is us changing the colors of the background and dots of the QR Code.

So, how do you finish and generate the QR Code?

Great question! Generating and distributing our QR Codes are 100% FREE. All you need to do is head over to the right-hand side of the page, just underneath the live preview of the barcode and hit “Generate”. However, you will need to give the QR Code a name first in the field underneath, and hit “Save.”

Don't see the save option? Create an account!

If you don’t have an option to “Name and Save” a QR Code—that is because you’ll need to create an account with us first! All you need to do is click register, and you’ll get a pop-up to put in your details for a username and your email. It’s just as easy as that!

Checking your QR Code Stats? What about more style options?

Want to check how many times your QR Code has been scanned? Or maybe edit it? All you need to do is log into your account, and click “My QR Codes” on the top of our website’s menu. You’ll have the option to delete, edit, and even track how many times the code has been scanned. There are also plenty of other account-related options in our Account Dashboard.

We offer the option to generate, create, and design QR Codes completely free using our generator. They’ll never expire, no hidden fees. However, we do offer a premium account feature, which allows for the creation of dynamic codes—which we will cover in our next guide, as well as further design options and more analytics! We also include a 7 free day trial. You can learn more about this in our FAQ! Dynamic QR Codes can be useful if you want to change WiFi passwords regularly for security purposes, or using WiFi as a paid extra for rooms.

Now your hotel or hospitality business is ready to go with Wifi Network QR Codes. It’s a time saver, saves resources, and is efficient. QR Codes can be a great way to automate your business. Check out our other articles to find ways to maximize efficiency for your business!

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post How Your Hotel Can Use QR Codes to Simplify WiFi appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

Using QR Codes For Business Marketing Events—How And Why?

QR Code Wizard — Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:12:40 +0000

Using QR Codes For Business Marketing Events—How And Why?

QR Codes are becoming the true all-rounder with their multipurpose design in every industry. It’s near-avoidable now, and if you aren’t already using them—you and your business should start adopting them now.

Data and statistics show that QR Codes are becoming a household normality. More and more people are scanning them every year, with the numbers growing exponentially. For example, just from 2018 to 2020 alone, the figure grew by two million in the US alone. Worldwide, the figure is astronomically higher. For a deeper dive into the stats and growth, you should check out Scanova’s in-depth look into QR Codes.

Where QR Codes really shine? In parallel with business and marketing events. It’s a great way to increase interaction with a simple click, and everybody and their mom have phones with in-built QR Code scanners nowadays. Looking to start using QR Codes for your company? Our QR Code Generator is a great (and free) place to start!

Taking Attendance

It’s so simple, yet so smart. A great use for QR Codes at events is using it in-place of your usual pen-and-paper, or website check-in. People can just walk through the doors, scan the QR Code, and then be on their way! This way, you also have real access to data from the attendees, and you can see who’s checked-in, the attendance rate, and use that data for real-world purposes.

Waiting times at business and marketing events is also crucial. The last thing you want is people to be deterred by long waiting lines, and sluggish entry. It can turn potential clients and customers away! QR Codes are by far the most efficient way to have people check-in for attendance and also collect data to see real statistics on the event turn out.

Ideas:

Placing the QR Code on the Desk
QR Codes around the marketing event on stands
Designing posters or marketing material with QR Codes to scan
Reminders to check in with QR Codes to quick check-in
Placing multiple QR Code stands in the entrance/wait line, so people can prepare and it speeds up the queue

Curious about the different types of QR Codes? We have a list that covers all of them and good use cases!

Adding QR Codes To Marketing/Business Material

The best way to increase interaction with your marketing or business material? Literally, make it interactive! Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Adding QR Codes that link to your business or company’s website on fliers.
Putting QR Codes into poster designs to spring clients into action.
Easy sign-up forms attached to QR Codes on your marketing material.
Fast sign-up for weekly newsletters or information on your business promotional material.

It doesn’t have to be a plain old QR Code either! You can get really creative. You can change up the colors of your QR Code, or even add in images or designs. You could even have the QR Code be part of the design! It’s a great way to get the attention of potential customers and clients. We even have a guide to help you create your first QR Code guide, which also covers customizing the code with different colors and images. As well as how to link it to different information, like a URL, or contact information.

Sharing Contact Information

We’ve mentioned time and time before, especially in our creative uses for QR Codes article, but we’ll say it again. Sharing business and/or contact information. With QR Codes, you can efficiently share and contact any potential client or customer with just a quick scan!

For example, you could use our QR Code Generator to link it to your number or your business’s contact number, or even your email address. So, clients can easily add you into their contacts, or send an email address without going through the tedious-discouraging time of retyping it all out. That lengthy effort is what turns people off of sending a quick email asking about more information. A QR Code makes the whole process one click away!

What else can you use it for?

The possibilities of use cases for QR Codes are nearly endless! You could get really imaginative with them, and even do a marketing campaign that changes overtime using dynamic codes. You could even use it to get feedback on your own marketing, or business events! For example, you could place the QR Codes around your marketing event, or marketing material, and have it link to a quick survey for people to give feedback or ideas on where to improve your product.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post Using QR Codes For Business Marketing Events—How And Why? appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

Making your first QR Code Guide

QR Code Wizard — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 03:47:10 +0000

Making your first QR Code Guide

Do I need an account?

Our QR Code Generator tool is completely free, however, we do recommend still making an account with us to track your QR Code and statistics. This guide will run you through the entire process to create your first, basic QR Code! QR Codes have been around for decades, however, have been gaining traction and growing exponentially for their potential for marketing and business use. The best time to create a QR Code was when you first started your business—the second-best time is now! We’ve got you covered.

Click the above button to get taken to our Account page. Here, you can log into our system if you’re already registered with us, or sign-up to create a new account! It’s straightforward, put in your email and then we’ll send you through a new password. You can also make an account on the QR Code Generator page itself.

Generating Your First QR Code Guide—Let's Get Started

First of all, you’ll want to head over to our QR Code Generator. Here, you’ll find all our QR Code generation tools, from color and styling options, to the data you want the QR code to link to. This is where all the QR Code Generation will be taking place, so it is good to famliarize yourself with all the settings of the tool. The page should look like this:

What are all the different tabs?

The first thing you will probably notice are all the different tabs up top: URL, Text, Email, etc. These are just the different options you can choose to have your QR Code linked to.

QR Codes are a type of barcode that can store information and data. Because of this, it is possible to have it hold information such as URL links to websites, contact information like email addresses or phone numbers, or even open up phone apps to send an SMS straight to a number.

The tabs are pretty easy and self-explanatory. When it comes to navigation, just simply click on the type of data you want it to link to. This will also come up with a box of relevant options for inputting the information.

For example, we will go ahead and click the "URL" tab, and put in a website address.

As you can see, we clicked the URL tab, which will bring up new options/form to put in the data for your QR Code. We’ve put in the URL link to our website, however, you can put in whatever you want. Each tab comes up with different fields/forms for you to put information in. We will show you another example in the next image. Here is what comes up when you click email.

Styling your QR Code. Want to change the color or size?

So, how do you finish and generate the QR Code?

As you can see in the image, we’ve written in the name “Test” for our QR Code, and then you click “Save” and then “Generate”. If you want to download a copy of your QR Code to share with friends, or use for your business—just click the “Download” button.

Don't see the save option? Create an account!

Checking Your QR Code Stats

Want to check how many times your QR Code has been scanned? Or maybe edit it? All you need to do is log into your account, and click “My QR Codes” on the top of our website’s menu.

As you can see in the image below, that is the QR Code we created earlier! We have the option to delete it, or edit the code. The “My QR Codes” link also brings us to our Account Dashboard, which allows us to change other options such as Account Details, add payment methods, and track QR Code statistics.

What about making a dynamic QR Code? Or more styling options?

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post Making your first QR Code Guide appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

8 Creative Uses For QR Codes in Business (and Marketing)

QR Code Wizard — Fri, 19 Aug 2022 09:12:37 +0000

8 Creative Uses For QR Codes in Business (and Marketing)

Looking for new ways to promote your new company? Or maybe just boost engagement with customers for your pre-existing business? Well, we’re here to help! Here are some creative uses for QR Codes in business and marketing! QR Codes have been around for decades, but their popularity has been growing exponentially in recent years.

This is all thanks to the global boom of smartphone usage. Did you know, the smartphone market grew from 59% in 2017 to over 78% in 2020? This is one of the driving factors for the growth of QR Codes, along with the global pandemic. According to a Statista survey, it is estimated that over 11 million US households alone scanned a QR Code.

That’s a massive number. It’s extremely fast-growing, but you won’t believe the numbers for Asia. The use of these codes are surging throughout Asia, especially in China. COVID-wise, the need of contactless methods of interaction increased. This is where QR Codes come in! It allowed for easy, contactless interactions between consumer and seller, as well as an easy form of payment, and tracking (for the pandemic).

So, where does this all come together for businesses and marketing? Well, it’s been shown that QR Codes are more effective than other traditional marketing tactics, and are also great for conducting surveys, or sharing company information and contact details. For example, consumers are much more likely to quickly scan and fill out a survey online than they are to write everything out on pen and paper.

Also, nearly every smartphone has a QR Code scanner built-in to their default camera! So, the target audience is massive. If you want to give making one of these codes a go, we offer a QR Code Generator. We also offer tutorials that cover the different types of QR Codes you can create!

Adding QR Codes To Product Labels

Running a store? Whether it’s an online business, grocery store, make-up company, or whatever in-between-one of the best creative uses for QR Codes is to add them to your product labels! QR Codes can be an easy way to communicate with your consumers.

You could use the QR Code for a range of scenarios. Sending a package? You could throw the QR Code on there to link to a survey, so, customers can instantly scan the box or packaging and give you feedback! This can be a great way to collect invaluable data, and find out what your audience is into or wants to see.

Another good example of QR Codes on product labels is within physical stores. You can add the QR Code for customers to scan on their phone to see more information about the product. This allows you to save space on the label itself, and have all the information presented through the code!

Finally, you could also have it link to tutorial or How-To videos. This is great for technology products, or make-up. Not sure how to set this up? Well, we actually have a QR Code Generator on our website – and it’s completely free! Just put in the URL or information you want to show, and then click generate! You can also customize the size to fit your product labels.

Email Newsletter Sign-Ups

Running an advertisement or promotional campaign? Rather than having potential subscribers searching up your website, and then running through a bunch of clicks and buttons to sign-up for your newsletter – you can just use a QR Code! You can generate a QR Code and print/add it to any images/campaigns or other promotional material you’re using, and have it link to a URL that takes potential subscribers directly to your email sign-up. It’s been shown that consumers are more likely to sign-up for a service when the steps are as minimal and simple as possible.

Easy Signing For Petitions

Similarly, to email sign-ups, did you know you could even use it for people to easily sign petitions? For example, if you’re running a petition on Change.org, you could just have the QR Code link straight to the petition’s URL! This is great for non-for-profit businesses or charities. You can easily spread the word out for your petition, and put the QR Code on promotional materials, or posters for your cause. It’s more efficient than walking around, asking people to sign a sheet!

Use QR Code For Discount/Promo Codes

Really want to drive customer engagement and sales? Use QR Codes to give out discounts or promotional codes for your store! You could even have it link to a sign-up page to receive the discount/promo code. It’s a win/win! It’s also one of the most creative uses for QR Codes when it comes to businesses. You could plaster these QR Codes in your store, any advertisement posters, and it’s a good “call to action” marketing technique. It’s actually become quite a common practice, and many companies are already implementing this strategy.

Processing Payments

Did you know? There has been more than $2 trillion spent in payments/transactions over QR Codes. This figure is estimated to easily reach $3 trillion by 2025. If it ends up happening earlier, it won’t be a surprise!

Many businesses have been turning to QR Codes to process payments, and it’s already supported by most of the major payment processers – like PayPal and Apple Pay. You can get creative with it, too. Running a restaurant or cafe? You can put the QR Code on the menus or tables, and have people order + pay without getting up!

In a post-pandemic world, it’s also safer for both, the consumer and worker, as it’s contact-free. On top of this, it’s efficient. It also means the resources that would usually be spent taking orders and payments can be used elsewhere. It’s also more attractive to customers, as they won’t need to wait in huge lines! QR Code payments are almost instant, and can take a range of payment options.

Business Cards

It’s such an obvious solution for business cards, we don’t even know if it counts as creative uses for QR Codes! It’s just so simple and intuitive. Adding QR Codes on your business card makes any potential client and consumer accessing your contact details so much easier. It also makes them more likely to actually contact you!

Instead of going through the tedious and lengthy process to open up an email app and put in your contact address, or typing out your entire phone number (which could go wrong!) to their contact details – a QR Code can do this automatically for them. You can link a QR Code to a “mailto:” address, which automatically opens and starts a draft to the linked email, or to directly add a phone number to their contacts… All with a simple scan and click through every smartphone’s basic/default camera app! You can do this using our QR Code Generator app, and it’s all free!

Self-Guided Tours

Running an art exhibit, or maybe you just offer company/facility tours? You know, one of the creative possibilities for QR Codes is creating a self-guided tour! There are two simple ways you could go about this: adding QR Codes to scan next to the piece of art (or room, whatever you want to show off!) that has the related information. This also adds a level of interactivity to your exhibits, which makes it more hands-on and fun for and tourers! On top of this, it also makes the entire tour trackable – you can see data and statistics on which QR Codes has been scanned, which can provide useful information e.g.: on what piece was most popular.

Another way you could run a self-guided tour, is by using the QR Code to link to a video or audio (or even app) that plays as the person walks through the exhibit. This QR Code scenario has already been implemented in some museums and art galleries. It’s quite popular, and an invaluable way to gain data. Along with that, you could even add in call-to-action buttons, urging the consumer to share the exhibit on Social Media (or even sign-up for a newsletter! Possibilities are near-endless).

For Event RSVPs

Sick of hosting business events like get-togethers, meetings, or presentations and nobody RSVPs? Maybe, it’s because the sign-up or check-in process is too tedious. QR Codes cuts down the time tremendously, and makes it, so people can even check-in before the event as long as they can scan the QR Code!

This is more efficient than the typical pen-and-paper RSVP/sign-in method, or using tools like Facebook Events. Almost everybody has a smartphone with a camera that scan QR Codes. On top of that, due to services like Google, it can autofill their information into the RSVP or check-in forms you link to in the QR Code.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post 8 Creative Uses For QR Codes in Business (and Marketing) appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

How and Why to Add QR Codes to Your Product Labels

QR Code Wizard — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 06:49:30 +0000

How and Why to Add QR Codes to Your Product Labels

If your company hasn’t already adopted using QR Codes, the best time is to start now! The new form of barcode has been spreading like wildfire across the globe, and usage is up into the billions. From marketing to even the medical field, QR Codes have widespread usage. In particular, businesses putting QR Codes on their product label has become popular. Why are they doing this? What can a QR Code do?

We’re here to help you create QR Codes for your businesses, and explain the benefits! Businesses are adopting QR Codes because they can hold so much more data than a simple barcode. From allowing customers to find your website or more product details through just one simple click—to even holding data like phone numbers, images, or email addresses. It’s invaluable.

On top of that, QR Codes are much cheaper and efficient than a typical barcode. It’s also great for driving user engagement, and you can directly track the number of users who scan it. Nearly everybody has a smartphone that is capable of scanning one of these codes, as stock camera apps come with a built-in QR Code function.

How do you create QR Codes?

All it takes to create a QR Code is a few clicks—then you’re ready to start distributing! You can throw QR Codes on anything, from business cards, advertisements—and in particular, we’ll be focusing on adding them to product labels. First of all, there are quite a couple of QR Code creators online—but we offer our own QR Code Generator tool.

It’s quite versatile—and best of all, completely free! You can edit the size, and style, as well as even add images to the design! On top of that, you can have the QR Code link to your website, an image, text, or even business information like phone or email. You can just print out the QR Code and then place it anywhere—A business card, a handout, a poster in your store—anything!

The whole process only takes a few clicks, and then you can get straight to boosting your company. If you want a more in-depth view on using QR Codes to grow your business—check out our article here. We have some tips and good use-case examples there.

Should you use a dynamic QR Code?

Did you know—there is a range of QR Code types? We go through the different variations available more in-depth in this blog post here. We want to specifically focus on the dynamic QR Codes. What are they? Are they better than your typical, static QR Code?

Static QR Codes, once generated and printed can’t be changed. It’ll always have to link the same the URL or other data you attach to it. Whereas, a dynamic QR Code can be changed—even after launch. After a few weeks, or even months, you can update the URL and have the code link to something else.

Dynamic QR Codes are flexible and advances. How does it work? It’s done by the generator creating you a “special” URL link which then is set to redirect to your chosen website. The special URL stays static and is what is connected with your QR Code, however, you can change it to redirect to any URL whenever you want.

This is time-efficient, and better for production in the long run. Running a new marketing campaign? You won’t need to print out a whole new set of QR Codes—you can just reuse the same ones. This also means you won’t have to reprint the QR Codes for new products, and you can keep pre-existing products circulating.

Why should you add QR Codes on product labels?

There are a few reasons why you should add QR Codes on product labels.

Customers could scan the QR Code to find out more information on the product. It also reduces the amount of information you include the on the packaging or product itself—which gives a cleaner, more minimalist style which is appealing to customers.
You can use the QR Code to link directly to your business/company website or to a product review/survey form. Statistics have shown users are more likely to participate in activities like surveys when they’re easily accessible – eg: just one click away with a QR Code.

For example, if you’re selling beauty products—you could use a QR Code to provide detailed information on the ingredients and what skin types it’s good for. It could also include “How To” videos for applying the makeup and show recommended products.

Things To Consider:

QR Codes sound magical right? Well, before you jump into adopting them and print out a few dozen thousand – there are a few things to consider. Are they right for your company? QR Codes can be used in a diverse range of scenarios, like in entertainment and marketing. Think about what you want to use them for first before deciding on what type of QR Code you want to use.

For example, if you’re running a promotional campaign, or your products might receive updates later down the line—or you might change your mind and want to add more information, a dynamic QR Code might be best. You also want to consider the placement of the QR Code. You want to put it in a spot that is easily scannable, and visible to the user. At the same time—you don’t want it to be an eyesore and take up the entire label. Keep in mind: QR Codes can’t be placed on rounded surfaces like barcodes can.

Why are QR Codes the new go-to for businesses?

So, why have businesses been so quick to jump on the QR Code train? Why should you use QR Codes on product labels? The code has existed for decades, but it has only seen an exponential rise in popularity in recent years. Unfortunately, this rise can be attributed to the global pandemic – it’s widespread adoption was a side-effect of COVID.

Companies and organizations were turning to QR Codes to implement more hands-free ways to do activities such as: contactless purchasing, quick tracking, and even surveys without having to interact face-to-face. This has led to the realization that QR Codes could be used in day-to-day activities, and improve overall quality of life for the users and organizations using them.

A great example of QR Code implementation is restaurants and cafés using them for allowing customers to peruse the menu, and purchase from them. Not only is this safer for the restaurant because it’s contactless, but it’s also more efficient. There’s no more need to wait in a line to process payments, and it makes everything faster—from ordering food, to delivering food, and assigning table numbers. It also removes the need issue of wrong orders!

Governments have also been adopting QR Codes for use in tracking. For example, in Australia, it was used as the main source of tracking COVID-19 positive people and where they’ve been. Let’s take a look at the QR Code statistics for 2022! Whilst Asian countries have been the quickest to adopt QR Codes, it’s quickly being used everywhere worldwide—from Australia to the UK and America.

Mobileiron conducted a survey that had participants from the UK and Europe to showcase QR Code usage. It was reported that over 85% of participants had scanned a QR Code before, and over 35% scan one once a week. Just last year, it was reported that QR Code payments had hit $2 trillion, and it’s estimated this will grow to a behemoth $3 trillion by 2025 globally! It’s a sign that it’s time to adopt this new technology, and jump on the train before it leaves without you!

In 2021 alone, over 75 million people scanned a QR Code on their smartphone. This is a huge increase over the 2020 by 15.3%! And the statistics is only growing steeper and steeper from here. If you want a more detailed breakdown of the growth of QR Codes and statistics over the years, check out our QR Codes – How big are they? article.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post How and Why to Add QR Codes to Your Product Labels appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

$2 trillion in QR Code Payments – How big are they?

QR Code Wizard — Mon, 08 Aug 2022 18:43:41 +0000

$2 trillion in QR Code Payments - How big are they?

Although they’ve been around for decades, QR Codes are only just now gaining traction. Especially since the start of the decade, 2020, they have quickly become common in everyday use. Whether it’s for marketing reasons, sharing information, or even tracking.

If you want a more in-depth explanation on QR Codes, you can check out our other article here. Basically, they are a form of matrix barcodes which can be used to store and easily read information. QR Codes can be used to store anything from URL links/websites, images, emails, surveys, and what we’ll be focusing on in this post – payments.

QR Codes are pretty versatile, with plenty of different usage options. However, recently, they’ve garnered popularity as a secure, contactless method for payments. Businesses ranging from restaurants to even your everyday shop are beginning to adopt them as an efficient and secure way to process transactions.

Did you know this year there has been over $2 trillion in QR Code payments alone? Which begs the question… Just how big are QR Codes? Data has shown that use of QR Codes is spreading quickly especially in Asian countries, such as China, where 50% of users scan QR codes weekly.

This style of growth is seen in Western countries like the US, too. In 2021 alone, over 75 million smartphone users scanned a QR code on their device. It is estimated that this figure will hit over 99 million by 2025.

Due to the easy and accessible design of QR Codes, they are the way of the future. Nearly every modern smartphone has the scanner built-in to their stock camera apps, so everybody can just flick open their phone and process a QR Code.

How Are QR Codes Used For Payment?

QR Code Payments are a form of contactless payments, that are extremely secure. The way QR Codes do this is by having the customer scan the code, which then takes them to a payment form to input their details (either bank or something like PayPal) and complete the payment.

QR Code Payments are becoming widespread and can be used in any industry. For example, it’s becoming popular in restaurants and cafés, especially. These businesses are starting to attach QR Codes to their menu, so customers can just scan the QR Code, order and pay online.

Another good example is using QR Code Payments for parking. It allows customers to just scan a QR code, easily find their parking space and just pay on the spot. It’s no wonder that QR Code Payments are becoming the new norm! Furthermore, it’s fast, contact-less secure, and there’s also way less room for error.

To process a QR Code Payment, the only thing someone needs is a mobile phone which has a camera app with a built-in QR Code reader—and guess what? Almost every smartphone has that! All a customer needs to do is scan the QR, which will then read the data the code is storing, which takes them to the payment menu.

The whole process is the exact same as using a QR Code for anything else. However, instead of storing a URL link or even phone number, you’re storing a link to a payment form.

When Will QR Code Payments Hit $3 Trillion?

A new report from Juniper Research, a UK based consultancy, predicts that QR Code Payments will hit $3 trillion by 2025. Keep in mind, just this year alone we’ve already hit $2.4 trillion for worldwide QR Code Payments. Using QR Codes to process payments is growing increasingly popular at an alarming rate.

This report also confirms a trend that the Financial Services Company, MasterCard, has noticed. That QR Codes are growing alarmingly fast, and are becoming popular for P2P situations and physical point of contact sales. This is because it’s extremely secure, efficient, and effortless for both parties involved.

Data has shown the fast adoption of QR Codes can also be paid in part to the pandemic. COVID had us rethinking the way we interact with other people and systems in the world, especially when it comes to offering contactless methods for things such as payments. QR Codes are supported by most top payment providers, including PayPal, Google Pay, WeChat, and the support is only growing. More companies are jumping on board the QR Code train.

What Is Driving The Popularity Of QR Codes?

It’ll come as no surprise if QR Code Payments end up hitting $3 trillion before the forecasted 2025 date. Their usage is growing consistently globally. For example, QR Code usage was up 15.3% in the United States alone from 2020 to 2021. It’s also been found that QR Codes are more effective for consumer/customer feedback than other methods.

According to a survey from US Shoppers sourced from Statista, conducted in June 2021, 45% of the participants reported they used a QR Code to access marketing or promo offers. This is nearly half of all the survey responders. Data has always shown consumers are more willing to engage with material like surveys or sign-up forms (eg: newsletters) if the process is efficient and non-time-consuming.

QR Codes make these processes speedy and appealing. It also leaves less room for error. For example, a user inputting their own data into a sign-up form they scanned from a QR Code is way less likely to have something misspelt or incorrectly input than a customer giving their details to an employee verablly.

The wide use cases for QR Codes as well as the fact they’re completely free and effortless to generate is what’s driving their growing popularity. On top of this, QR Code scanners are built-in to modern-day smartphones, so anyone can easily access and read the information a code stores. There’s no need for a special app or hardware. This makes it appealing for both consumers and creators.

Why Are Businesses Adopting QR Codes?

Whilst QR Codes have a place in personal use, like quickly sharing WiFI password/details—businesses are adopting it faster than ever. Why is that? A few reasons for this is because, one, it is extremely easy to make and use a QR Code. Best of all, it’s also free!

Secondly, QR Codes are extremely versatile and have uses for almost any situation. Need to share your company’s details? Throw one on your company’s card. Need to link to your website in an advertisement? Place one on there that consumers can scan.

As mentioned earlier, QR Codes also offer the ability for completely secure and fast transactions. This makes it a great choice for accepting payments. A huge bonus that QR Codes offer is that you can track their statistics, too. This is great if you’re looking to collect data on your company, and what works or doesn’t.

For example, are QR Code scans down on your new advertisement? Seeing how many users scanned the attached QR Code can show how effective your marketing is.

Want to see what all the fuss is about? The best thing about QR Codes is that they’re cost-effective and free to make! This makes them an attractive tool for any up-and-coming or long-running business. As well as a great alternative to options like barcodes due to accessibility.

Anyone can make one! You can too. We have a QR Code Generator on our website if you want to give the nifty tools a test run. You can link it to a website, phone number, picture, or even have it share WiFi details! You’ll never need to read out a WiFi password again. This is what even makes it great for personal use.

Fun fact! QR Code use grew over 90% from 2018 to 2020. The pandemic was a much-needed kick-start for businesses and technology to adopt QR Codes. Over 5 billion coupons using QR Codes were used in 2019 and it’s only going to get bigger from here. QR Codes are here to stay.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post $2 trillion in QR Code Payments – How big are they? appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

How QR Codes Can Help Your Business Grow

QR Code Wizard — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 16:41:50 +0000

How QR Codes Can Help Your Business Grow

Whether you’re a start-up looking to grow, or an established business wanting to expand—every company can benefit from QR Codes. If you’re not too sure about the different types of QR Codes, or how they can be used—you should give our How Does QR Codes Work article a read.

We also have a QR Code Generator available on our website if you want to get a taste. Our generator will let you create QR Codes, have it link to a URL, email, image, or even location! You can also customize the color, size, and style of the QR Code. We also offer the option to generate dynamic QR codes, which is handy for businesses. This lets you change what the QR code is linked to after you’ve launched it! We also offer tracking scan statistics—so you can see how many times it’s been opened.

The possibilities of QR Code usage as a means to grow and support your business is near endless! Whether you want to use it for marketing, hosting unique events, or even to handle payments. Read below to find out more!

QR Codes For Marketing

The easiest way to use a QR Code to grow your company and boost your marketing is by advertising your website. By connecting your website to a QR Code, this lets potential customers or clients easily scan the code, and be taken straight to your website. This lets them access your services (and site) directly, and cuts out the need to search you up or type in a URL!

This allows your customers/consumers to easily access your website, and find out any additional information. Whether it be about a product, your business as a whole, events, or contact information. You can pack a ton of information into a QR Code! Best of all, you can also stick this code anywhere. This makes it an efficient and easy way to advertise and share your business—ensuring it reaches more people. Here are just a few ideas:

You can put QR Codes on the back of business cards for clients or consumers to scan.
Place the QR Code on the back of products to link to your business’ website or to see more information on the product.
Putting the QR Code on advertisements, so consumers can easily find more information about the company, product, or event.
Linking the QR Code to your business’ social media pages, or even Linktree.

This is just the easiest way to use a QR Code for marketing. On top of that, statistics for these codes are quite easy to track. You can easily track the number of times a QR code has been used/scanned, which can help determine an efficient way for your company to use them for marketing! Best of all, QR Codes are free to create, and free to track!

Collecting Contact Information

Did you know—customers are more likely to hand over their contact information, or sign-up for newsletters if the process is simple? QR Codes make the whole process effortless, and more likely for a potential customer or consumer to give their details (or register for something like a newsletter).

With a QR Code, you can easily collect customer information. Just link the code to a website with your business’ sign-up fields! It’s also much more efficient than having a customer type in a URL, or search for your business up in Google. Or having to sign them up in person, which can lead to human error.

Depending on the sign-up form you use to collect contact information, modern web browsers will autofill the details for consumers—which makes the process even faster and appealing! You could put this QR code up anywhere in your store. For example, some stores will put pictures of sign-up QR codes up on their windows, or stands plastered around the store.

Payments or Collecting Tips

Did you know QR Codes can actually be used for payments and even for collecting tips from consumers? This is perfect in a store or restaurant setting. Wondering how this could help your business grow? Good question!

This can help your business grow because it can save you money on, for example, printing physical menus for your café or restaurant. That money could then be used for marketing and advertising.

The same QR Code could also be used to link customers to social media pages or a sign-up for your business. QR Codes are becoming popular among restaurants and cafés as a way to have contact-less pay, so people can order directly from their table! For a restaurant, this would make the entire business more efficient—from collecting orders, payments, and you could even use the QR Code to collect tips, too.

Having an efficient system for ordering will help grow your business and also looks appealing to customers. You can even have the QR Code link to the entire menu.

A creative way you could use a QR Code for a business or café would be:

Linking customers to an online menu to order and pay from.
Putting QR Codes around the restaurant or on tables, encouraging customers to scan the QR Code to get the business’ social media details, and posting their food to social media with the restaurant tagged!

Surveys and Feedback

Consumer feedback is invaluable when it comes to growing a new or existing business. It’s important to get criticism, and data from surveys to know what you’re doing well, where you can improve, and opinions on the products/services your business offers.

It can be hard getting consumers to fill out a survey, especially if they have to search it up themselves, or it comes through as annoying email spam. Or worse—it’s paperback, and you ask them to fill it out in your business’ location. This is where QR Codes come in!

As mentioned earlier when it comes to contact information, consumers are more likely to fill out a quick survey or give their opinion on a product/service if it’s easily accessible. You could put a QR Code up in your store, or ask consumers to scan it and have it link to a simple survey for them to fill out.

Downloading Apps

Running a marketing campaign? You can use a QR Code to link consumers to your business app! If you don’t have an app set-up, you should start! An app is an effective way to ensure consumers stay connected and can directly access your services or products from just one tap!

For example, popular apps/mobile games like Angry Birds have previously used QR Codes in the past to have customers easily download their game. You could use the QR Code to link to the consumer’s respective App Store (iOS/Android) and then download it straight to their phone. No searching needed!

On top of that, you could even use QR Codes within your app. A good example of this is with Spotify. Spotify has generated QR Codes for all their songs, etc., so people can easily just share that with a friend to scan, and it’ll automatically pop up on their device!

Social media apps and games like Snapchat as well as Pokémon GO have even adopted QR Codes to make it easier to add friends. All you need to do is just scan the code, and it’ll autofill their details to just send a request!

Emails or Phone Numbers

If you’re trying to run an effective marketing campaign, of course, you’ll want potential consumers to be able to easily email or call you. QR Codes are the easiest way to do this!

Whilst you could list your phone or email details somewhere, not only will consumers need to remember that—they’ll also have to fill it in themselves.

That’s where QR Codes come in! Instead, your potential consumers or clients can just scan the QR Code and then email you directly straight from there. Using “mailto:sample@email.com” in your QR Code Generator’s URL link will open up a ready-to-go email to send to the specified address.

You can also do the same with phone numbers, so people can easily add it to contacts to message/call later, or call the business there and then.

Other Creative Ways To Use QR Codes For Your Business

Looking for a few other ways you can use QR Codes to help grow your business, and drive customer engagement? One creative way you can do this is to use QR Codes as a coupon or discount. You could have customers scan your QR Code to get a special one-time discount on products.

You could tie this coupon/discount QR Code to even lead into a registration/sign-up to access the code. This could be useful in a range of areas, from running a retail store, restaurant/café, or even a gym. If you’re a business looking for a way to easily share your services or a portfolio with a potential client—you could use the QR code to link to that.

Finally, QR Codes can also be a great way to run marketing events. You could use the code for easy event registration/sign-up, or even use it as a part of the event to show information. If you ever want to change the information the QR Code links to after the event, you could always make it a dynamic QR Code. This allows you to change the URL/information the QR Code is set to.

QR Codes have been around for decades, and whilst it took a few years for them to catch on—they’re popular now. Since the pandemic, QR Codes have become common in day-to-day life, with almost every business and country adopting them to easily transfer information.

Best of all, nearly everybody has the ability to scan a QR Code! Smartphones nowadays have a built-in QR Code function in their camera, so anyone can scan and access the information. This makes it the perfect strategy for marketing your business, and driving consumer growth. Did you know? A QR Code can be used even with up to 30% of it damaged. So, you could even place them outdoors, and not worry!

You can also get creative with the design of your QR Code. It doesn’t need to be just a plain black-and-white, pixelated square. You can throw in color and even images to make it unique!

Ready to create beautiful QR codes for your business? Checkout eQRCodes.com and explore our QR design options and scan analytics.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post How QR Codes Can Help Your Business Grow appeared first on eQRCodes.com.

QR Codes vs. Barcodes

QR Code Wizard — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 16:11:50 +0000

QR Codes vs. Barcodes

With the rise of QR codes in day-to-day life, it’s time to tackle the topic – QR Codes vs. Barcodes. Which is better? Or are they just tailored towards different situations? Barcodes have been around since the middle 1900s, and has become commonplace in daily life. Every store uses them, and even places like hospitals, to identify patients.

In comparison, QR codes are fairly new but have been booming in popularity, popping up in every industry. From entertainment to health and marketing, QR codes have a wide range of uses—especially compared to barcodes. Anyone can whip out their phone and scan a barcode, which makes it accessible.

Is the time of barcodes over now, with QR code usage on the rise? Read more to find out! We’ll cover the benefits of both in this article, and try to answer the age-old question. If you’re trying to figure out which would be best for your business (or even personal use), our article will list out the advantages of both to help you come to a decision.

What exactly are barcodes?

Barcodes are actually not too different than QR codes, and work similarly. However, the biggest difference is they can’t store nearly as much data. Barcodes only hold information in a line/horizontal dimension, which limits the amount of data to just one stretch of stripes. Whilst QR codes are both up and down, so they can contain more information.

So, what exactly is a barcode? It’s just a machine-readable code that is made up of numbers and a pattern of lines that gives information when interpreted. For example, this might be a product code. When you go into a store, every item has a barcode on it. This is then scanned by a computer, which reads the barcode and the information it’s storing to figure out what you’re buying and the price.

Did you know? Barcodes have been around for decades, dating all the way back to the 1950s. It was actually based on Morse code. There are variants that use other shapes or patterns, however, the parallel linear design is the most commonly used in everyday life.

Even parallel linear barcodes have different designs. For example, there are UPC does, which can be read in any direction. This design specifically helps combat the typical disadvantage of barcodes being more finicky to scan.

Whilst it doesn’t come close to containing the amount of information a QR code offers, the GS1-128 version of barcodes can store extra information, like dates, batch number, etc.

What is a 1D barcode? How is it different to a 2D barcode?

Great question! And fortunately—we have the answer for you. A 1D barcode is the typical, linear design that you see everywhere. Linear barcode data is scanned using a laser, typically.

2D barcodes resemble QR codes in their design, and instead are scanned using an imager. These imagers can also be used for 1D barcodes.

As the name suggests, 1D barcodes stores data going from left-to-right in one dimension. 2D barcodes add in another dimension to allow for more data. This also allows for more information to be stored, similarly to a QR code. Fun fact: QR codes are technically 2D barcodes! However, when people talk about 2D barcodes, they’re usually referring to a data matrix.

When it comes to data matrix vs QR codes – the winner is obvious. QR codes can still hold more data than data matrixes (2D barcodes), and more diverse range of uses.

How do QR Codes work?

If you’re not sure what a QR code is, it stands for “quick response” code. It is a square image consisting of patterns and/or black/white lines that store information or data. They are most commonly used for storing URLs, or even for taking payments.

When scanned by a camera (on your phone, for example), it reads and interprets the data on the QR code. It was first developed back in 1994, but has only become popular in use in more recent times.

There are multiple versions of QR codes. For example, kanji, alphanumeric, and binary. If you want a more in-depth look into QR codes, you should read our how does a QR code work article.

Most recently, QR codes have been popularly used by companies for marketing purposes. Such as including them in advertisements, so customers can easily find their website or relevant information.

It’s also widely used for entertainment purposes, like finding games or movies. It isn’t just limited to that, though, as mentioned earlier, QR codes are also popular for transactions. It’s a completely safe and secure way to pay for your groceries!

It has even found its uses in the medical industry, particularly with the pandemic. It can be used for tracking purposes, as people can just scan the QR code instead of having to write down their details every time they go into a store, for example.

Just like barcodes, QR codes can come in a range of different designs and types. For example, there are micro-QR codes, which are pretty self-explanatory. There are even dynamic QR codes, so you can change/edit where it sends the user—even after it has been generated! Need to change the link on a QR code your company has put up months later? You can! Compared to a barcode, it’s much easier to “modify/rewrite.”

What benefits do barcodes offer?

What are the advantages of using QR Codes?

The biggest advantage of a barcode is that they are cost-efficient. Especially if you’re running your own business or store, it’s cheaper to get a device that scans barcodes. It’s also great for use for inventory tracking. It’s also extremely efficient and fast to read. Adding a barcode to a product isn’t hard to do, either. Also, QR codes can’t be read on rounded surfaces, whilst barcodes can! So if you’re selling anything rounded or cylindrical—like a can—barcodes are the way to go.

Barcodes are also pretty secure, especially compared to QR codes—where someone could easily send you to a malicious website. They’re also popular for use in environments like libraries, too. Barcodes can also cut down company costs in the long-run, as well as saves you time/money on labor. Instead of individually counting out stock, you can just scan it! It also allows for more accurate inventory control, as the products would all be counted/tied to barcodes and a computer system—which means lowering room for error.

Here are a few examples of where barcodes come in handy:

Identification – ID like Drivers License feature barcodes for fast verification.
Specimen Collection – Pathology Centres put barcodes on their tubes for efficient identification. This is something that can’t be done by QR codes, as they can’t be placed on rounded objects.

The biggest advantage of QR codes is that they can hold more information than a barcode can. Where barcodes can hold up to 25 characters, QR codes can go up to 2500! For example, this means you could even put a URL in your QR code, or product descriptions along with their title. This makes it amazing for adding more in-depth info.

On top of that, QR codes can also be printed way smaller than barcodes. They’re more space efficient, whilst also providing more information to the user/scanner. They can also be scanned from more angles than a barcode can—which has to be read in line with the code.

Here are some examples of what you can store in a QR code:

Images and Videos
Geolocation/Map Data
Plain Text For People To Scan/Read
Product Information
Website Links
Email Addresses
And More!

Best of all, when it comes to damaged or scratched codes—QR beats out barcodes. They have a higher rate of error correction, which goes up to 30%. So, even if the QR code is slightly damaged, scratched up or even dirty – it can still be scanned. Even compared to 2D barcodes (data matrix), QR codes have a better error correction rate.

Wondering how that works? It’s because the pixel parts in the QR code are doubled up in the design. So, if the design is slightly damaged, the other parts of the code make up for it and still allows for the data to be read. It essentially “backs up” the data.

Which one is the best?

So we’re at the finale. Which is better when it comes to QR Codes vs. Barcodes? The obvious winner when it comes to function are QR codes. They allow you to store more data, have more use cases. They can be used for anything from marketing and sharing websites to even secure transactions.

However, when it comes to affordability—barcode is still the cheaper option. If you just need a solution for tracking stock or selling products in a store, it’s the better choice. It can also be used on rounded items, whereas QR codes can’t.

Where QR codes win is if you’re looking to give more information to the user, or even for marketing. The technology to scan QR codes is also super accessible, nearly everyone has a smartphone with a QR code scanner built into their camera app. Especially after the pandemic, so many countries used QR codes as the main form of tracking.

The biggest difference between QR codes and barcodes, too, lie in how they’re used. QR codes can be placed anywhere and used by anyone, whilst a barcode needs to have the machine configured to read its data. This is what makes it great for businesses/stores, however, it can’t ever be used in the same context as QR codes. You can’t just scan a barcode on your phone and have it lead you to a website.

Whereas, QR codes can be used as a replacement to barcodes. There’s nothing stopping a store from using QR codes to keep track of their inventory, and it could even be configured to let customers read additional information on the product they’re looking at.

Some other good use case examples for QR codes in the professional field are:

QR codes could be use for easy-to-access operational instructions for machinery or devices.
QR codes could be used for storing information and communicating between employees. Just put in the instructions or message, and get employees to scan it for information. It’s faster than logging in and checking email! More creative, too.

Unlike barcodes, QR codes can also be made as large (or as small) as you need. They can get as small as 2 x 2 centimeters whilst still being readable. Compared to the smallest barcode, this makes it useful if you want to put it on smaller products, or even put them on tags.

If you want to give making a QR code yourself a try, you can do that on our home page! We offer a QR Code generator, which allows you to set up your own in just seconds! You can even change the style/design, and have it link to a URL, Wi-Fi settings, and more! You can track the statistics too.

Get Started With QR Codes Now!

Create your own QR Codes completely free using our Code Generator! Create a range of codes, from URL links, contact forms, and track all the stats! You can even customize the design and size.

The post QR Codes vs. Barcodes appeared first on eQRCodes.com.