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<H1>5.6 Two-Dimensional Symbols</H1>
<P><A NAME="DMATRIX"></A><FONT SIZE=5><B>5.6.1 Data Matrix (ISO
16022)</B></FONT></P>
<P>Also known as Semacode this symbology can encode a large amount of
data in a small area. Any length ASCII string can be encoded up to
780 characters. Symbol size is determined by the length of the input
data and Reed-Solomon error correction is added.</P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><IMG SRC="matrix.png" NAME="graphics1" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=44 HEIGHT=44 BORDER=0><BR CLEAR=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P><A NAME="QRCODE"></A><FONT SIZE=5><B>5.6.2 QR Code (ISO 18004)</B></FONT></P>
<P>Also known as Quick Response Code this symbology was developed by
Denso. QR Code support in Zint relies on <I>libqrencode</I> (version
2.0.0 or later) which is available from
<A HREF="http://megaui.net/fukuchi/works/qrencode/index.en.html">http://megaui.net/fukuchi/works/qrencode/index.en.html</A>.
Support for QR Code through <I>libzint</I> means that developers only
need to write handlers for one API which covers QR Code as well as
all of the other code symbologies provided by <I>libzint</I>. Four
levels of error correction are available using the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">security=</FONT>
option or setting <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">option_1</FONT> as
shown in the following table.</P>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DD>
<TABLE WIDTH=715 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=3>
<COL WIDTH=74>
<COL WIDTH=113>
<COL WIDTH=261>
<COL WIDTH=218>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=74>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B>Input</B></P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=113>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B>ECC Level</B></P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=261>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B>Error Correction Capacity</B></P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=218>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><B>Recovery Capacity</B></P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=74>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>1</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=113>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>L (default)</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=261>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 20% of symbol</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=218>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 7%</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=74>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>2</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=113>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>M</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=261>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 37% of symbol</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=218>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 15%</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=74>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>3</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=113>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Q</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=261>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 55% of symbol</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=218>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 25%</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=74>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>4</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=113>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>H</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=261>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 65% of symbol</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=218>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Approx 30%</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
<P><BR><BR>
</P>
<P>The size of the symbol can be set by using the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">vers=</FONT>
option or setting <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">option_2</FONT> to
the QR Code version required (1-40). The maximum capacity of a
(version 40) QR Code symbol is 7089 numeric digits, 4296 alphanumeric
characters or 2953 bytes of data.</P>
<P ALIGN=CENTER><IMG SRC="qr.png" NAME="graphics2" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=50 HEIGHT=50 BORDER=0><BR CLEAR=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P><A NAME="MAXI"></A><FONT SIZE=5><B>5.6.3 Maxicode (ISO 16023)</B></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Developed by UPS the Maxicode symbology employs a grid
of hexagons surrounding a 'bulls-eye' finder pattern. This symbology
is designed for the identification of parcels. Zint encodes Maxicode
symbols in Mode 2 or Mode 3 depending on the postcode data entered.
In these modes Maxicode symbols are composed of two parts named the
primary and secondary messages. The primary message consists of a
structured data field which includes various data about the package
being sent, the secondary message usually consists of address data in
a data structure. The format of the primary message is given in the
following table:
</P>
<CENTER>
<TABLE WIDTH=810 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=3>
<COL WIDTH=270>
<COL WIDTH=513>
<THEAD>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TH WIDTH=270>
<P>Characters</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=513>
<P>Meaning</P>
</TH>
</TR>
</THEAD>
<TBODY>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=270>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>1-9</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=513>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Postcode data which can consist of up to 9
digits (for mode 2) or up to 6 alphanumeric characters (for mode
3). Remaining unused characters should be filled with the SPACE
character (ASCII 32).</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=270>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>10-12</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=513>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Three digit country code according to ISO 3166
(see <A HREF="appxb.html">Appendix B</A>).</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=270>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>13-15</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=513>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Three digit service code. This depends on your
parcel courier.</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TBODY>
</TABLE>
</CENTER>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>The primary message can be designated at the command
prompt using the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">--primary=</FONT>
switch. The secondary message uses the normal data entry method. For
example:</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">zint -o test.eps -b 57
--primary='999999999840012' -d 'Secondary Message Here'</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>When using the API the primary message must be placed
in the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">symbol->primary</FONT>
string. The secondary is entered in the same way as described in
section 4.2.</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Modes 4 to 6 can be encoded using the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">--mode=</FONT>
switch or by setting <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">option_1</FONT>.
Modes 4 to 6 do not require a primary message. For example:</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">zint -o test.eps -b 57
--mode=4 -d 'A MaxiCode Message in Mode 4'</FONT></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Mode 6 is reserved for the maintenance of scanner
hardware and should not be used to encode user data. All modes
support extended ASCII characters and number compression. The maximum
length of text which can be placed in a Maxicode symbol depends on
the type of characters used in the text. Example maximum data lengths
are given in the table below:</P>
<CENTER>
<TABLE WIDTH=664 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=3>
<COL WIDTH=138>
<COL WIDTH=160>
<COL WIDTH=164>
<COL WIDTH=153>
<THEAD>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TH WIDTH=138>
<P>Mode</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=160>
<P>Maximum Data Length for Capital Letters</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=164>
<P>Maximum Data Length for Numeric Digits</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=153>
<P>Number of Error Correction Codewords</P>
</TH>
</TR>
</THEAD>
<TBODY>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=138>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>2 (secondary only)</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=160>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>84</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=164>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>126</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=153>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>50</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=138>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>3 (secondary only)</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=160>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>84</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=164>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>126</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=153>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>50</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=138>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>4</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=160>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>93</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=164>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>135</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=153>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>50</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=138>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>5</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=160>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>77</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=164>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>110</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=153>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>66</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=138>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>6</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=160>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>93</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=164>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>135</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=153>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>50</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TBODY>
</TABLE>
</CENTER>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><B>PLEASE NOTE</B> that due to the unique style of the
Maxicode symbol not all of the options available for other
symbologies are available. Settings for height, whitespace width,
border width and output options will be ignored. Colour options are
available as with other symbologies. PNG output is set at a
resolution of 12 pixels per millimetre (approx 300 dpi) and uses the
methods set out in Annex J of the ISO/IEC standard.</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><IMG SRC="maxicode.png" NAME="graphics3" ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=200 BORDER=0><BR CLEAR=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P><A NAME="AZTEC"></A><FONT SIZE=5><B>5.6.4 Aztec Code (ISO 24778)</B></FONT></P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Invented by Andrew Longacre at Welch Allyn Inc in 1995
the Aztec Code symbol is a matrix symbol with a distinctive bulls-eye
finder pattern. Zint can generate Compact Aztec Code (sometimes
called Small Aztec Code) as well as “full-range” Aztec Code
symbols and by default will automatically select symbol type and size
dependent on the length of the data to be encoded. Error correction
codewords will normally be generated to fill at least 23% of the
symbol. Two options are available to change this behaviour:</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>The size of the symbol can be specified using the
<FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">--ver=</FONT> switch followed by (or
setting <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">option_2</FONT> to) a value
between 1 and 36 according to the following table:</P>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DD>
<TABLE WIDTH=684 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=3>
<COL WIDTH=184>
<COL WIDTH=473>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TH WIDTH=184>
<P>Value Entered</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=473>
<P>Symbol Generated</P>
</TH>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=184>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>1-4</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=473>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Compact Aztec Code with [value] layers</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=184>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>5-36</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=473>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>“Full-Range” Aztec Code with [value –
4] layers</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Note that in symbols which have a specified size the
amount of error correction is dependent on the length of the data
input and Zint will allow error correction capacities as low as 3
codewords.</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Alternatively the amount of error correction data can
be specified by use of the <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">--mode=</FONT>
switch followed by (or setting <FONT FACE="Courier, monospace">option_1</FONT>
to) a value from the following table:</P>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DL>
<DD>
<TABLE WIDTH=681 BORDER=1 CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=3>
<COL WIDTH=220>
<COL WIDTH=434>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TH WIDTH=220>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Mode</P>
</TH>
<TH WIDTH=434>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>Error Correction Capacity</P>
</TH>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=220>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>1</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=434>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>>10% + 3 codewords</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=220>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>2</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=434>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>>23% + 3 codewords</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=220>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>3</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=434>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>>36% + 3 codewords</P>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN=TOP>
<TD WIDTH=220>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>4</P>
</TD>
<TD WIDTH=434>
<P ALIGN=CENTER>>50% + 3 codewords</P>
</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
</DL>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><BR><BR>
</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>It is not possible to select both symbol size and error
correction capacity for the same symbol. If both options are selected
then the error correction capacity selection will be ignored.</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT>Aztec Code is able to encode any extended ASCII
character data up to a maximum length of approximately 3823 numeric
or 3067 alphabetic characters or 1914 bytes of data.</P>
<P ALIGN=LEFT><IMG SRC="aztec.png" NAME="graphics4" ALIGN=BOTTOM WIDTH=114 HEIGHT=114 BORDER=0></P>
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