QR Codes

[Steffen Schilke]

Hello,

first of all let me introduce myself: I am a QR Code Evangelist and I
twitter as @QRCodeART (http://twitter.com/qrcodeart ) - One of my creations
is one of the biggest working / scanable QR Codes in the World
(@EXPLORAmuseum, http://twitter.com/#!/exploramuseum , Frankfurt, Germany -
http://explora.info/images/qrclaraIMG_5995_m.jpg 5x5 Meter,
http://www.explora.info ) and a city wide QR Code scavenger hunt in
Frankfurt. In the museum we do a lot with QR Code.

What do you mean by the QR Codes "die"?!? Does it no longer scan or does
the link encoded no longer works (or the provider does not redirect
anymore)?

Some "valuable" tips:

Use the highest error correction --> keep control on how you create your QR
Codes - use Zint http://sourceforge.net/projects/zint/ or Google Chart API
or http://www.terryburton.co.uk/barcodewriter/generator/ or ZXing
http://code.google.com/p/zxing/ all this is for free! For scaling use a
vector format like eps or svg (or how do you think I got a 5x5 Meter big QR
Code done ;-)

30% Error Correction keeps you going even if the QR Code gets wrinkled or
someone adds some extra black spots. This also allows you to "brand" with a
logo BUT test it with several QR Code reader apps (on Android and iPhone -
i-nigma, Quickmark, ZXing, QRCodePal, BeeTag, MicrosoftTag). You can also
color you QR Code if you have enough contrast (some anecdote: I wanted to
put a facebook logo in one if the cornerstones of the QR Code in Facebook
blue and nearly no QR Code reader could decode this. Checkout for slide 11
from this presentation (
http://www.slideshare.net/QrArt/qr-code-vortrag-beim-webmontag-frankfurt )
to understand the anatomy of a QR Code and where you can put things. If you
speak or understand German:
http://blip.tv/web-montag-frankfurt-am-main/qr-codes-5250040 this is a
presentation I did ;-)

Do not use services providers! Do it by yourself - service providers are
just jumping on the band wagon and are gone if the business does not prosper

If you use short URLs the same applies - either do them by your self (get a
short domain name and get your IT guy to do a redirect for you (simple html
page or, i.e., mod_rewrite on Apache)  or get one of the free php scripts
which do a URL shortening service (for free) or use goo.gl or bit.ly (both
give you stats as well)

Any other questions? Feel free to ask (I am not depending on making money
on this so I can get you frankly the truth ;-)

Kind regards

Steffen

On Fri, Apr 13, 2012 at 11:52 PM, Liz Hubert <liz_hubert at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I could use a little help. For the past year or two, I've been doing a lot
> of work with QR codes at my library. We've got a pretty good program going,
> and I'm really excited about it. We have unfortunately run into problems
> with the longevity of our codes as well as flaky creators. We first used
> Kaywa to create codes, but our codes all died about four months after we
> created them. We've been using myqr.co since, but have been noticing lots
> of problems with the generator in the past month or so. We're ready to
> switch. I know lots and lots of creators since I've researched this
> extensively, but I'd like to get your feedback. Has anyone been using the
> same creator for a significant period of time? I don't care much about how
> they look, since we have a great graphic designer. I put the codes through
> bitly, so it doesn't need to have a tracker either. I really just need
> something that is reliable and will last a long time. Can anyone share
> their experiences? I'd be so grateful!
> ============================
>
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> 2012-04-13
>
>

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2012-04-14
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