2D barcodes - also called matrix codes - hold their data in a grid of squares or dots, read across and down. A small square holds what a linear barcode would need a whole label for, and it still reads with part of it scratched or smudged: that's error correction. They need a scanner with a camera, or a phone - a laser scanner can't read them.
| The 2D symbologies | |
| Aztec | Boarding passes and train tickets. Needs no margin around it. |
| Code One | Bars across its middle, and two short, wide versions for a narrow space. |
| Data Matrix | Industry, electronic parts and medicines - GS1 DataMatrix. Square or rectangular. |
| Dot Code | Separate dots, for printers that mark products at high speed. |
| Grid Matrix | China: Chinese text, in a grid of blocks. |
| Han Xin Code | China's national 2D barcode, for Chinese text. |
| Maxicode | UPS parcels: always the same size, read by sorting machines. |
| QR Code | Made for phones, and read by most 2D scanners too: links, contacts, Wi-Fi. And Micro QR, for small items. |
| Ultracode | In color, to hold more in less space. Few scanners read it. |
No readable line. A 2D barcode has no value printed under it. If the label needs it in clear too, add a text element beside the barcode. 2D barcodes always keep their proportions, so Keep aspect ratio isn't offered.
Size. Most of them have a Size: Automatic size picks the smallest that holds the value, and a fixed size keeps every label alike. When the value doesn't fit the size you chose, Labeljoy uses a bigger one - except a QR Code of size 1 to 40, and a Dot Code with a number of Columns, which show an error instead.
Error correction. QR Code, Aztec, Han Xin Code, Grid Matrix and Ultracode let you choose how much: more makes a barcode that survives more damage, but a bigger one for the same value. With a fixed Size, Error correction is greyed out. The others have theirs built in.
Characters. Aztec, Code One, Data Matrix, Dot Code, Maxicode and Ultracode hold letters, digits and symbols, and the accented letters of Western European languages - é, ü, ñ and the like. The euro sign, other alphabets and emoji don't fit: use a QR Code for those, which a phone reads in any language. Han Xin Code and Grid Matrix are made for Chinese. QR Code, Han Xin Code and Grid Matrix have a Character Set; its Default character set is right unless your scanner asks for something else.
Characters you can't type. With Encoding set to Standard, a tilde followed by three digits is
the character with that code - ~013 is a carriage return, ~029 the GS separator - and
~~ is a tilde.
Data Matrix, QR Code, Aztec, Code One, Dot Code and Ultracode can also carry GS1 data, and the first three HIBC: see GS1 and HIBC data. To put a contact, a Wi-Fi network or a payment in a 2D barcode, the 2D Barcode Wizard writes the value for you. The rest of the settings - quiet zone, color - are in the Barcode section.
