Product Code Database
A Data Matrix code is a two-dimensional matrix barcode consisting of black and white "cells" or modules arranged in either a square or rectangular pattern. The information to be encoded can be text or numeric data. Usual data size is from a few bytes up to 1556 . The length of the encoded data depends on the number of cells in the matrix. Error correction codes are often used to increase reliability: even if one or more cells is damaged so it is unreadable, the message can still be read. A Data Matrix symbol can store up to 2,335 alphanumeric characters.
Data Matrix symbols are rectangular in shape and usually square and are composed of "cells": little squares that represent bit. Depending on the coding used, a "light" cell represents a 0 and a "dark" cell is a 1, or vice versa. Every Data Matrix is composed of two solid adjacent borders in an "L" shape (called the "finder pattern") and two other borders consisting of alternating dark and light "cells" or modules (called the "timing pattern"). Within these borders are rows and columns of cells encoding information. The finder pattern is used to locate and orient the symbol while the timing pattern provides a count of the number of rows and columns in the symbol. As more data is encoded in the symbol, the number of cells (rows and columns) increases. Each code is unique. Symbol sizes vary from 10×10 to 144×144 in the new version ECC 200, and from 9×9 to 49×49 in the old version ECC 000 - 140.
The United States of America's Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) recommends using Data Matrix for labeling small electronic components.
Data Matrix codes are becoming common on printed media such as labels and letter. The code can be read quickly by a barcode reader which allows the media to be tracked, for example when a parcel has been dispatched to the recipient.
For industrial engineering purposes, Data Matrix codes can be marked directly onto components, ensuring that only the intended component is identified with the Data Matrix encoded data. The codes can be marked onto components with various methods, but within the aerospace industry these are commonly industrial ink-jet, dot-peen marking, laser marking, and electrolytic chemical etching (ECE). These methods give a permanent mark which can last up to the lifetime of the component.
Data Matrix codes are usually verified using specialist camera equipment and software. This verification ensures the code conforms to the relevant standards, and ensures readability for the lifetime of the component. After the component enters service, the Data Matrix code can then be read by a reader camera, which decodes the Data Matrix data which can then be used for a number of purposes, such as movement tracking or inventory stock checks.
Data Matrix codes, along with other Open Source codes such as 1D Barcodes can also be read with mobile phones by downloading code specific mobile applications. Although the majority of these mobile readers are capable of reading Data Matrix, few extend the decoding to enable mobile access and interaction, whereupon the codes can be used securely and across media; for example, in track and trace, anti-counterfeit, e.govt, and banking solutions.
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Symbols have an even number of rows and an even number of columns. Most of the symbols are square with sizes from 10×10 to 144×144. Some symbols however are rectangular with sizes from 8×18 to 16×48 (even values only). All symbols utilizing the ECC 200 error correction can be recognized by the upper right corner module being the same as the background color. (binary 0).
Additional capabilities that differentiate ECC 200 symbols from the earlier standards include:
According to ISO/IEC 16022, "ECC 000 - 140 should only be used in closed applications where a single party controls both the production and reading of the symbols and is responsible for overall system performance."
The diagrams below illustrate the placement of the message data within a Data Matrix symbol. The message is "Wikipedia", and it is arranged in a somewhat complicated diagonal pattern starting near the upper-left corner. Some characters are split in two pieces, such as the initial W, and the third 'i' is in "corner pattern 2" rather than the usual L-shaped arrangement. Also shown are the end-of-message code (marked End), the padding (P) and error correction (E) bytes, and four modules of unused space (X).
There are multiple encoding modes used to store different kinds of messages. The default mode stores one ASCII character per 8-bit codeword. Control codes are provided to switch between modes, as shown below.
| Not used |
| ASCII data (ASCII value 1) |
| End of message |
| Digit pairs 00 – 99 |
| Begin C40 encoding |
| Begin Base 256 encoding |
| FNC1 |
| Structured append. Allows a message to be split across multiple symbols. |
| Reader programming |
| Set high bit of the following character |
| 05 Macro |
| 06 Macro |
| Begin ANSI X12 encoding |
| Begin Text encoding |
| Begin EDIFACT encoding |
| Extended Channel Interpretation code |
| Not used |
The resulting value of B1 is in the range 0–249. The special value 254 is used to return to ASCII encoding mode.
Character code interpretations are shown in the table below. The C40 and Text modes have four separate sets. Set 0 is the default, and contains codes that temporarily select a different set for the next character. The only difference is that they reverse upper-and lower-case letters. C40 is primarily upper-case, with lower-case letters in Set 3. Text is the other way around. Set 1, containing ASCII control codes, and set 2, containing punctuation symbols are identical in C40 and Text mode.
| CR |
| * |
| > |
| space |
| 0 |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7 |
| 8 |
| 9 |
| A |
| B |
| C |
| D |
| E |
| F |
| G |
| H |
| I |
| J |
| K |
| L |
| M |
| N |
| O |
| P |
| Q |
| R |
| S |
| T |
| U |
| V |
| W |
| X |
| Y |
| Z |
| ASCII codes 64 – 94 |
| Return to ASCII mode |
| ASCII codes 32 – 63 |
It is desirable to avoid long strings of zeros in the coded message, because they become large blank areas in the Data Matrix symbol, which may cause a scanner to lose synchronization. (The default ASCII encoding does not use zero for this reason.) In order to make that less likely, the length and data bytes are obscured by adding a pseudorandom value R(n), where n is the position in the byte stream.
Cognex Corporation, a large manufacturer of 2D barcode devices, filed a declaratory judgment complaint on March 13, 2006 after receiving information that Acacia had contacted its customers demanding licensing fees. On May 19, 2008 Judge Joan N. Ericksen of the U.S. District Court in Minnesota ruled in favor of Cognex. The ruling held that the '524 patent, which claimed to cover a system for capturing and reading 2D symbology codes, is both invalid and unenforceable due to inequitable conduct by the defendants during the procurement of the patent.
Notably, since the '524 patent expired in November 2007, a ruling against Cognex wouldn't have affected current use of Data Matrix codes. However, it would have established that use of Data Matrix prior to November 2007 could potentially be covered by the '524 patent.
A German Patent Application DE 4107020 was filed in 1991, and published in 1992. This patent is not cited in the above US patent applications and might invalidate them.
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