As you may know, the integral part of our patented technology is based on the use of 2-dimensional barcodes. 2D barcodes are hugely popular in Asia and Europe but are fairly new in North America.
Today, 2D barcodes are incredibly beneficial as they can store many hundreds of times more information than ordinary barcodes and offer an extraordinary variety of B2C and B2B applications that are just beginning to be explored.
2D barcodes are primarily used through mobile devices, bridging the gap between the online and offline world. 2D barcode apps "read” the barcode image captured by your smartphone. Your phone acquires and actions on the content embedded in the 2D barcode. The content is usually a URL—aim your phone at a 2D code and it immediately displays the web site—but they can also return email addresses, business cards, etc. 2D barcodes can be placed on just about anything but you typically see them on products and in media such as billboards, magazines, newspapers, etc. Many companies are linking 2D barcodes to unique discounts, coupons and other incentives—just another great reason to give them a try.
The most common versions of 2D codes are Quick Response (QRC) and Data Matrix (DMC)—the latter is what Snapizzi uses. We integrated, and leveraged, our technology to be simple enough to be used with any digital camera, even a smartphone. Snapizzi’s use of 2D barcodes is truly innovative for high volume portrait photography, especially school, sport and event photographers.
Combined with all the information that can be embedded in a Data Matrix Code, our proprietary error correction algorithms ensure you get the right photo to the right person at the right time. This means no more sorting and organizing through thousands of school photos or assigning metadata to countless marathon pictures or capturing a myriad of contact information onsite at an event or party–no manual intervention is needed.
If you want to learn more just drop us a line—we love to talk about what we do.
2026 Terminology note: We originally wrote about this distinction in detail back in 2016, when 2D codes were far less common. Snapizzi uses 2D Data Matrix codes, which we’ve relied on since the platform’s earliest releases. You’ll see us refer to them as “QR codes” now because that’s the term most people recognize today — but the underlying technology choice was made over a decade ago for speed, accuracy, and reliability in high-volume workflows.
