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Understanding QR codes H


BY MARK BRUNO, DIGITAL MEDIA MANAGER


ave you heard of QR codes yet? Here is a quick introduction: You may have seen them in a magazine ad here in the


pages of Phc News, on a billboard, a web page, even on the front cover of the very magazine you hold in your hands now. They come to us from Japan where they are


    82


very common. QR is short for Quick Response (they can be read quickly by a smart phone). They are used to take a piece of information from a transitory media and put it in to your smart phone. Once you have scanned the barcode-like image with your phone’s built-in camera and a specialized app, it may give you details about that business in the ad, or details about the person wearing an item of clothing in a catalog, display a URL that will take you to a movie trailer, or it may give you a coupon that you can use at a retail outlet. However, unlike a standard barcode, QR codes


store (and digitally present) much more data, including URL links, geo coordinates, and text. The other key feature of QR Codes is that instead of requiring a chunky hand-held scanner to scan them, just about any modern smart phone with access to Apple’s App Store or the Android Market can scan them.


| ADVERTISERS’ INDEX |


American Standard ....................33 www.americanstandard.com


American Water Heater .............35 www.americanwaterheater.com


Apollo/Elkhart Products/LASCO ...................................cover wrap www.apollovalves.com


Bradford White ..........................29 www.bradfordwhite.com


Buderus......................................25 www.buderus.us


Burnham..................................IFC www.burnham.com


CAC Services Group..................19 www.cacservicesgroup.com


Chicago Faucets .........................11 www.chicagofaucets.com


Cimberio Valve ..........................69 www.fastlockfittings.com


Franklin Electric .........................31 www.franklin-electric.com/lg


General Pipe Cleaners, a div. of General Wire Spring......23, 78 www.drainbrain.com


Grundfos................17, Back Cover www.grundfos.us


HARSCO Industrial ................IBC www.harscopk.com


Heat-Flo Products.................56-57 www.heat-flo.com


John Guest.................................28 www.johnguest.com


Legend Hydronics ......................51 www.legendhydronics.com


Liberty Pumps..............................7 www.libertypumps.com


MCC USA, Inc...........................12 www.mccusainc.com


Navien..................................13, 53 www.navienamerica.com


PEX Supply.com........................47 www.pexsupply.com


Precision Hydronic Products ......18 www.phpinc.us


RIDGID...............................15, 77 www.ridgid.com Rinnai ........................................45 www.rinnai.us


Saf-T-Kut....................................16 www.saf-t-kut.com Saniflo........................................58 www.saniflo.com


Sloan Valve...........................41, 77 www.sloanvalve.com


Smith Mfg. Co., Jay R.................14 www.jrsmith.com


Stiebel Eltron.............................73 www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com


Taco .....................................27, 79 www.taco-hvac.com


tekmar....................................9, 63 www.tekmarcontrols.com


Tyler Pipe...................................65 www.tylerpipe.com


Uponor.................................54, 55 www.doyouuponor.com


Utica Boilers...............................49 www.uticaboilers.com


Watts..........................................59 www.watts.com


WD-40 ......................................10 www.3inone.com


Webstone .................................4, 5 www.webstonevalves.com


Weldbend .............................20-21 www.weldbend.com


Zoeller .......................................36 www.zoeller.com


Zurn.............................................3 www.zurn.com


In the case of Phc News, we’re utilizing them


in some very unique ways. On this month’s cover wrap you’ve no doubt seen the QR code next to the address label. Scanning it with your smart phone will allow you to quickly and easily update your magazine subscription. On the actual front cover of the magazine you may have noticed another QR code with the twitter logo embedded within the center. Scanning that will take you right to the Phc Newstwitter feed where you can stay updated to all of the latest happenings within the industry. Lastly, Phc Newscolumnist and resident social media darling, Ellen Rohr, also has a QR code published next to her column, which will take readers to her online blog at www.phcnews.com/ellen_blog.php. QR codes are becoming very common here in


the United States as Americans become increasingly more reliant on their mobile devices. These squares of elaborately arranged boxes are so easily integrated with various services that many of our advertisers have figured out QR codes are their best friends, and we hope you’ll feel the same way as Phc Newscontinues to use them as a way to interface more efficiently with readers. ;


phc july 2011 www.phcnews.com


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