QR Code Information Center

After reading this post yesterday, we decided it deserved prominent placement on our beloved blog. With Jacob Tyler now offering QR Codes as part of our social media strategy here’s an awesome post by Scott Cappel, President of Sorrento Mesa Printing. As time passes and QR codes become more mainstream, they really will transform the way we interact with the world while we are actually in it. In all honestly, I had a hard time with the concept but in reading this post, among others, they really do provide the most direct line of communication between you and everything around you, as opposed to going home and looking up what you remember from your day when you get there. Without further chatter, enjoy the post….

QR or Quick Response codes enable print media and web mobile media to work together. With any smartphone (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid etc.) enabled with a QR Reader app (free software that can be downloaded) you can click a picture of the QR code and it will launch your smartphone’s browser and take you to whatever URL is embedded within the code.

qr_codes

QR codes were invented in 1994 by the Japanese corporation Denso Wave. Originally designed to track parts in vehicle production they have now become an open source ISO standard free for the world to use. Because of its 2 dimensional design it is capable of encoding up to 7,089 characters. This is far more data than a typical one dimensional bar code such as the standard UPC symbol. A QR code can therefore encode any web address no matter the length of the URL.

Here are a few examples of how QR codes can be used in your print media:

  • A Realtor can place a QR code on the printed information sheet outside of a home for sale. A prospective buyer can snap a picture of the QR code which contains a URL taking the user to a YouTube video featuring a virtual tour of the home.
  • At a scientific conference poster session, a scientist could place a QR code on their poster containing a URL leading directly to a PDF of the poster so as colleagues reviewed the poster’s content they could also save a PDF to their phone and email it to colleagues not in attendance.
  • An online retailer can send out postcards in a direct marketing campaign that would include a QR code containing a URL to an interior page on their site containing a discount or a promotion only available via the QR code. This would drive mobile customers to the promotion with the additional benefit of allowing measurement of the effectiveness of the postcard campaign.
  • A manufacturer of equipment could use QR codes in their instruction manuals that would have direct links to their website or YouTube highlighting “how to” videos complementing the information in the manual.
  • The image at the top is our CEO Scott’s business card with a QR code on the back which leads to his public profile on LinkedIn. This is a natural extension of the business card’s content where a more detailed bio is now available to the reader.

It is clear that QR codes are incredibly versatile and are only limited by your imagination. QR codes can encode a static URL or can also be dynamic in nature. QR codes can embed PURL (Personal URL) technology in a cross media direct marketing campaign so that response can be measured in a very detailed way.

At Sorrento Mesa Printing we have many new and innovative ways to incorporate QR codes into your print projects. If you are interested, just let us know. Below are some resources you might find helpful.

QR Code Reader Apps:

  • Kaywa Reader
  • Neoreader
  • BeeTag Reader
  • Barcodes Reader for iPhone
  • BlackBerry Mesenger 5.0
  • QuickMark Reader
  • i-nigma Reader
  • Upcode Reader
  • ScanLife Reader