Data Matrix Code Generator
Data Matrix is the tiny 2D code on electronics, medical devices and machined parts. This tool makes standard ECC200 symbols with full Reed-Solomon error correction, in your browser.
Any text, up to about 1,500 characters. Digits are packed two per codeword.
Size & options
Need a code that people scan with a phone?
Barcodes are for tills and warehouse scanners. For links, menus and posters, make a free QR code instead - or a dynamic one you can edit after printing.
SVG for print, PNG for screens. Free, no watermark, nothing uploaded.
Need a different type? All barcode types
What ECC200 is
The modern version of Data Matrix, and the only one anyone should generate today. The 'L' finder pattern down the left and bottom edges lets a reader find and orient the symbol; the alternating pattern on the top and right edges tells it the size. Data and Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords are interleaved across the grid so that a scratch or a smear takes out a mix of both, and the symbol still reads with up to around 30% of it damaged. Square sizes run from 10 by 10 modules (up to 3 bytes) to 144 by 144 (1,558 bytes); this generator picks the smallest size that fits and uses ASCII encodation, which packs digit pairs into one codeword.
Where Data Matrix is the answer
Anywhere the label is small or the surface is hard. Direct part marking - dot-peen or laser on metal, plastic and PCBs - is the classic use, standardised in ISO 15434 and MIL-STD-130. The FDA's Unique Device Identification rules put a Data Matrix on medical devices; the EU's Falsified Medicines Directive puts one on every prescription pack; GS1 DataMatrix carries GTIN, batch and expiry on pharmaceuticals worldwide. Electronics component reels, aerospace parts and postal franking all use it for the same reason: a 10 mm square holds a serial number that a 1D barcode would need 60 mm for.
One limit to know: GS1 DataMatrix starts with the FNC1 character, and this tool does not insert it, so it produces plain Data Matrix. That is the right symbol for internal serials, part numbers and any reader you configure yourself.
Printing and marking
Quiet zone: one module on every side, which the download includes; ISO recommends the same at minimum. Module size: 0.25 mm and up for printed labels, and for laser or dot-peen marking follow the marking process's own minimum, typically 0.2 to 0.5 mm. Keep the symbol square and unrotated relative to the label edge - readers handle rotation, but skew from a stretched raster breaks the grid. As with every code, download the SVG for print.
Other barcode types
- Free Barcode Generator - Type the number or text, pick the symbology, download a print-ready SVG or PNG.
- Code 128 Barcode Generator - Code 128 is the workhorse of logistics and inventory: any ASCII text, compact digits, a built-in check symbol, and readable by every scanner.
- EAN-13 Barcode Generator - EAN-13 is the barcode on nearly every product sold outside North America, and scanners everywhere read it.
- UPC Barcode Generator - UPC-A is the 12-digit barcode on products sold in the United States and Canada.
- Code 39 Barcode Generator - Code 39 is the older alphanumeric barcode still required by badge systems, automotive and defence specs.
- ITF-14 Barcode Generator - ITF-14 is the barcode on cases and cartons: a 14-digit GTIN in interleaved 2 of 5, framed by thick bearer bars so it prints reliably on corrugated board..
FAQ
Data Matrix or QR code?
Data Matrix is smaller for the same data and is what industrial readers and regulations expect on parts, devices and pharma packs. QR codes are what phones read and what the public recognises. If a person with a phone is the scanner, make a QR code; if a fixed reader or a spec is, make a Data Matrix.
How much can it hold?
Up to 1,558 bytes in the largest 144 by 144 symbol with the ASCII encodation this tool uses - about 3,000 digits or 1,500 text characters. In practice almost every Data Matrix in the field holds under 50 characters, in a symbol 16 to 26 modules square.
Can phones read it?
Most iPhone and Android camera apps do not, but free scanner apps and every industrial reader do. Do not put a Data Matrix on a poster and expect the public to scan it.
Does it make rectangular symbols?
Not yet; square sizes only. Rectangular ECC200 sizes exist for narrow marking areas, and every reader that reads a square one reads those too.