Easy 2D Barcodes

In only 4 steps, we're going to show you how to make a 2d barcode. There are plenty of tutorials out there that show you the 'standard' 1d barcodes, but today's technology has moved on from that. 2d barcodes look a bit like chunky static, but in actual fact they could better be thought of as a number of really thin 1d barcodes stacked on top of each other, giving a higher information density. You can encode a lot more info into a 2d barcode without using any extra space.

Start by making a new document. The size isn't critical, but try not to make it too big. We started with 300x150 pixels. RGB or Greyscale modes are equally good.

Step 2 is to use Filter >> Noise >> Add noise. Again, exact settings aren't too critical, but try for somewhere around the 150-250% for best effect and coverage.

You should end up with a canvas full of static.

In Step 3 you need to go to Filter >> Pixelate >> Mosaic and apply it. We chose 5 pixel blocks, since that gives a nice sized 'element' for each block of barcode. You can go smaller or larger, depending on your personal preferences.

You should now have a whole pile of variously-shaded squares of greys. This is ok, as the last step will do all the clean-up work for us.

Lastly, Step 4 uses the Image >> Adjustments >> Threshold feature to convert all those greys into either black or white. Move the little slider around until you get a nice coverage. Not enough and there will be too little info, too much and you'll have too much black. As you can see from the image histogram (the little graph) there is a fairly even 'bell curve' spread of greys, so if you pull the slider to just a little left of the middle of the big peak, you'll get a nice, authentic-looking 2d barcode.

These days, such barcodes are being embedded into Staff id cards, Vehicle Registration stickers, Product Specification stickers, etc. They will become more and more common… until something better comes along. So until then, have fun making your own!

Here is a little 30-second sample of a 2d barcode in (possible) use. We were going to scan and display a Vehicle Registration sticker from New Zealand, but were informed that it '...wouldn't be healthy for us…' to do so, by the local police. So, here ya go instead… one totally-unreal Staff ID card.