Color barcodes offer increased density over two-dimensional barcodes, which can be taken advantage of to embed longer data strings in the same printed/displayed area. However, the color channels also offer the possibility of containing multiple, distinct sets of data in the same “hybrid” mark.

The four-dimensional progressive barcode is a printed mark that does not change in size as it is used to represent different stages (or “states”) in a workflow. The addition of progressive information to a barcode allows it to change through time—supporting many different information lifecycles.^1,2 This means that the use of the same barcode location for multiple barcodes through time is possible. Progressive barcodes can be also used to support two (or more) applications or services in the same object. One of these can be standards compliant and another can be proprietary or customized. Thus, a “hybrid” of two functions, represented by two planes of information, is combined in a single mark.

These two planes of information include different densities of information. The first plane is binary, with high contrast between the two binary encoding (usually black and white) tiles in the barcode. The second is n-ary, and utilizes inks that are invisible to the binary barcode reading software. This is accomplished with highly saturated colors, but it can also be used with IR, UV or other “invisible” inks.

In this article, the authors will demonstrate several types of applications and services that are enabled by the progressive barcode. They are most effectively deployed when there are multiple types of information payloads needed for a single object—e.g., point-of-sale and customer interrogation of the product. This also makes them useful in a variety of document/physical item workflows.