By Heidi Beguin I was helping a friend figure out what to do with the QR Code on her printer the other day. The code is a sticker affixed to her printer and it links to a company where she can order more printer ink. As with many things in the tech world today, there are no instructions anywhere. I showed her that she could simply focus her phone’s camera on the QR Code and a link would pop up within the camera frame on her phone’s screen. She could click the link to go directly to the site to place an order. So easy!
QR Codes are normally black and white designs that are valuable in leading you to more information. It could send you to a website where you can place an order, or to an assignment your teacher wants you to complete, or it could give you the background information of a particular place. QR Codes are a pathway to something else.
Although QR Codes were first invented in 1994, according to www.microsoft.com, they first became popular in 2010. A website at https://bootcamp. uxdesign says that in 2023 QR Code trends were on the rise. There had been a 247% increase in QR Code creation in 2023 from 2021.
According to www.uniqode. com, the answer to ‘Do people still use QR Codes’ is yes. Most smart phones come with a native QR Code scanner in their cameras. It goes on to say that QR Codes are hugely popular amongst businesses and age groups of all kinds.
The next time you see a QR Code, put your phone’s camera over it, as if you were planning to take a photo, and see where the link leads you.