The symbol comprises the following elements:

• Square modules in a rectangular array that contain data

• Finder pattern and smaller finder sub-pattern

• Corner patterns

• Timing patterns

• Alignment patterns

• Quiet zone border

The layout and number of corner, timing, and alignment patterns depend on the size of the symbol.

Data is stored in "modules" (square dots) in the data area as binary information. Each black module represents a binary 1, and each white module represents a binary 0.

The finder pattern is the square bull's eye that appears in the upper-left corner of the symbol. The finder sub-pattern is a smaller square bull's eye that appears in the lower-right corner of the symbol. These patterns enable the barcode to be scanned correctly at any orientation.

The alignment pattern helps the decoding software re-synchronize in case of slight distortion of the code. It consists of one or more pairs of small square bull's eyes that are overlaid over the data region.

The timing patterns consist of rows and columns of alternating black and white modules. They enable the reader to determine symbol version and density.

This symbology supports the following characters in the following modes:

• Numeric mode: Includes all numeric digits (0-9).

• Alphanumeric mode: Includes all numeric digits (0-9), all uppercase letters (A-Z), and the following special characters:

  • Dollar sign ($)

  • Percent sign (%)

  • Asterisk (*)

  • Plus sign (+)

  • Hyphen (-)

  • Period (.)

  • Slash mark (/)

  • Colon (:)

  • Space character

• Byte mode: Includes data that is encoded at 8 bits per character. An alternative 8-bit character set, such as is defined in ISO/IEC 8859 Information technology - 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets, can be specified, but special notification about the alternative set must be made to those who will read the symbols.

• Kanji mode: Includes kanji characters that are encoded in accordance with the Shift JIS system as defined in JIS X 0208 7-bit and 8-bit double byte coded KANJI sets for information interchange; the following values are supported:

  • 8140_HEX–9FFC_HEX

  • E040_HEX–EAA4_HEX

For more information about kanji mode, see JIS X 0208 Annex 1: "Shift Coded Representation."

It is possible to switch between the different modes and to use any combination of them in a single rMQR Code symbol.

rMQR Code uses the Reed-Solomon algorithm for error correction. Two selectable levels of error correction are available, which enables the barcode to be read even if up to 30 percent of the code is damaged.

rMQR Code has 32 possible sizes, referred to as version 1, version 2, and so on through version 32. Version 1 (the smallest) is 7 x 43 modules, and version 32 (the largest) is 17 x 139 modules.

The quiet zone that surrounds the symbol must be at least two modules wide.