Along with the development of advanced technology, people are getting more and more familiar with shopping online and mobile devices. The introduction of barcode and QR code is also one of the latest trends which are favorable by both distributors and consumers. Following this trend, Mageplaza PDF Invoice extension allows sellers to include barcode and QR code in billing documents created by this extension to send to customers.
What are Barcode and QR code?
Barcode
Barcode is the arrangement of different lines to make a matrix which represents for a particular product or item. In the first place, the use of barcode was applied if there is a special optical scanners to read these lines. However, with the development of hi-tech devices, barcodes are now readable for devices that can read images such as smartphones with cameras.
There are numerous types of barcode such as Linear barcode and Matrix barcode. Depending on each kind, the number of lines and also their widths,length, and spaces vary differently. But they are all machine-readable.
QR code
QR code, which is short for Quick Response code, is actually a type of barcode. Therefore, QR codes are also readable by machines or hi-tech devices such as smartphones. For each QR code, it is comprised of four standardized encoding modes which are numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji to keep data for stores and business efficiently.
Normally, a QR code is arranged with black squares into a square grid on a white background. The square grid can be read by any image-reading devices. From the patterns which are presented in square grids, data will be extracted to represent for a certain product or even a website account.
The differences between barcode and QR code
Appearance
The most outstanding difference between these two codes is its appearance. When looking at these codes, it can be easily noticed that barcode is the arrangement of several lines while QR code consists of various squares.
Capacity
Because a barcode only keeps information in the horizontal direction, a QR code can holds information in both horizontal and vertical directions. Due to this great difference in structure, a QR code can store hundreds of times more data than a barcode.
Accuracy
Since a QR code can store much more data in horizontal and vertical dexists, its error margin is around 7 to 30%. Therefore, the use of QR codes quickly becomes a new trend despite recently being introduced.
Barcode and QR code used in PDF Invoice
The main function of Mageplaza PDF invoice extension is creating PDF billing documents for each customers such as their order, invoice, shipment, and credit memo. With each PDF file generated, buyers can attach a barcode or a QR code to identify each document, each transaction, or each purchased product. Only by an easy action - scan the code, buyers and sellers can check the PDF documents without any difficulty.
In short, the application of hi-tech development in e-commerce is very important as it presents your willing to go along with the development of human beings as well. Therefore, business doers should equip themselves with the most supporting tools to not only get survived in the market but also take the lead in this “game”. If you want to learn more about Mageplaza PDF Invoice extension, please visit our website: https://www.mageplaza.com/magento-2-pdf-invoice-extension/