How does a Data Matrix code work?

A Data Matrix is a square grid of black and white cells, called modules. Two of its edges are the finder pattern: a solid dark L runs down the left side and along the bottom, telling a reader where the symbol is and which way up it sits. The opposite two edges carry an alternating light-dark clock track, which tells the reader how many cells wide and tall the grid is. Everything inside those edges is data plus Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords — the ECC200 scheme defined in ISO/IEC 16022 — so a symbol keeps decoding when part of it is scratched, printed badly, or covered. Because the finder is on two edges rather than in the corners, a reader can lock onto a Data Matrix from any rotation, and the symbol stays readable at a fraction of the size a linear barcode needs.

How do I create a Data Matrix code?

Type or paste the data into the generator at the top of this page — it already has Data Matrix selected — and the symbol is drawn in your browser as you type. Set the cell colour, the background and the module size if you want, then set a target print width in millimetres, inches or pixels and download PNG, SVG or PDF. There is no signup, no account and no watermark. Two things the tool checks for you: the data must be standard ASCII, and the finished cell size is compared against 0.254 mm so you get a warning before you print something too small to scan.

Can I generate Data Matrix codes for free?

Yes — free, with no account. This generator does not ask you to sign in to create a code or to download the file, it adds no watermark, and it asks for no card. There is no paid barcode tier at QRKIT to upgrade to: vector export, the DPI and print-width controls, GS1 DataMatrix and bulk generation are all in the free tool. The codes are yours to use commercially.

How do you read a Data Matrix code?

With a dedicated 2D imaging scanner or a scanner app that lists Data Matrix among its symbologies. This matters more than people expect: a phone's built-in camera app usually recognises QR codes automatically but does not read Data Matrix, so pointing an iPhone or Android camera at one typically does nothing. Industrial handhelds and fixed-mount imagers read it as standard, and that is what Data Matrix is designed for — parts, instruments and packaging scanned by equipment, not by the public. QRKIT does not read or decode Data Matrix codes; this page generates them only.

Can I download a Data Matrix as an SVG or another vector file?

Yes. SVG and PDF are both true vector here — the symbol is drawn as real rectangles and written straight into the file, not traced from an image, so it stays crisp at any size and a plate-maker or laser engraver can use it directly. PNG is the raster option, exported at 72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI. There is no EPS export.

What is GS1 DataMatrix, and how is it different?

Same symbology, structured payload. A GS1 DataMatrix carries GS1 element strings — GTIN, batch, expiry, serial — written as (AI)value pairs, for example (01)09521234543213(17)181119(10)AB-123. It is the symbol GS1 asks for on regulated healthcare packaging. Pick GS1 DataMatrix in the format picker rather than plain Data Matrix and the brackets are parsed as application identifiers instead of literal characters. We check the structure — it has to start with an AI in brackets and be a run of (AI)value pairs — and leave which identifiers exist, how long their fields are and whether a GTIN check digit is right to the encoder's own GS1 tables, so an error names the offending field, such as “AI 01: Bad checksum”. Two honest limits: the tool draws the symbol only, so the human-readable text a GS1 label needs goes in your label layout, and we are not a GS1 conformance or verification service.

Why does the generator refuse accented or non-Latin characters?

Because encoding them would produce a label that scans back as something you never typed. A Data Matrix carries bytes, and ISO/IEC 16022 says a reader should interpret those bytes as ISO 8859-1 unless the symbol contains an ECI designator saying otherwise. This tool emits no ECI designator, so an accented or non-Latin character would go in as UTF-8 bytes and come out of the scanner as mojibake. Rather than hand you a symbol that silently misreads, the input is refused with a message naming the cause. So “café” and “日本語” are rejected, not mangled. Anything in standard ASCII — letters, digits, punctuation, a URL, a serial number — encodes exactly as typed, and nothing is auto-uppercased, because uppercasing a URL would change where it points.

How much data can a Data Matrix hold?

The symbology itself holds up to 1,556 bytes in its largest size. The input on this page accepts up to 512 characters, which is a limit of our single-line field rather than anything in the standard. How large the grid gets depends on what you type, because digits pack tighter than text: 512 digits fit a 64×64 symbol, while 512 characters of mixed text or a long URL land at 80×80 or 88×88. That 88×88 is the ceiling here — it holds 576 bytes, more than 512 characters can ever need. In practice most Data Matrix codes carry far less: a serial number, a part number, a short URL. The grid grows in fixed steps as you add data, so a longer payload means more cells in the same square, which means each cell is smaller at the same print width.

How small can a Data Matrix be printed?

Smaller than a linear barcode, but the limit is your printing or marking process, not the symbology. ISO/IEC 16022 sets no minimum cell size; GS1's smallest listed X-dimension for GS1 DataMatrix is 0.254 mm — ten thousandths of an inch — and this generator warns you when the export you have set up would put a cell below that. Two other rules matter as much: leave the quiet zone alone (a Data Matrix needs one clear module on all four sides, which the tool draws into the file for you, so never crop tight to the symbol), and keep real contrast between the cells and the background. Test a printed sample with the scanner that will actually be used before committing to a run.

Can I generate Data Matrix codes in bulk?

Yes. Open “Generate many at once” under the generator, paste a column of values or upload a CSV, and download the batch as a ZIP of PNGs, a ZIP of SVGs, or a single PDF with one code per page. Up to 500 rows run at a time. That cap is a browser-memory limit, not a plan limit — it is the same 500 for everyone, signing in does not raise it, and the tool tells you exactly how many rows were left out so nothing is dropped silently. Every row is checked with the same rules as the single-code field, so an invalid value is reported with its row number instead of quietly producing a broken label.

Do you support Excel, Python, or a Data Matrix font?

No. This is a web tool: there is no Excel or Word add-in, no font, no Python library, no desktop application and no barcode API. What it does cover is the batch case those are usually wanted for — export your spreadsheet column to CSV, or copy it straight out of the sheet and paste it into the bulk panel, and you get every code back in one download. Everything QRKIT does generate — fourteen formats, PDF417 among them — is listed on the barcode generator.

Is a Data Matrix the same as a QR code?

No. Both are 2D matrix symbologies and both hold far more than a linear barcode, but they are different standards with different finder patterns and different readers. Data Matrix is the one specified for marking small parts and regulated packaging, and it is read by scanning equipment; QR is the one a phone camera picks up, which is why marketing uses it.

Can I edit a Data Matrix after printing, or track how often it is scanned?

Not with a Data Matrix. Every code this tool makes is static: the data is inside the symbol, so once it is printed it says what it says forever, and nothing routes through us to be counted. There are no scan analytics, no redirects and no editing after download — that is a property of the symbology, not a feature we are holding back. If you need a code whose destination you can change later, or scan counts, use a dynamic QR code instead.

Get Started Free

Free Data Matrix Generator

Create an ECC200 Data Matrix in seconds. Download SVG, PDF or PNG. No signup, no watermark.

Create an ECC200 Data Matrix or a GS1 DataMatrix online, set the exact print width, and download real vector SVG or PDF — or PNG at up to 600 DPI. Free, no signup, no watermark.

Free — no accountECC200 & GS1Vector SVG & PDFUp to 500 at once

Free — no signup requiredData Matrix ECC200 & GS1 DataMatrixReal vector SVG & PDFBulk up to 500 codes

Barcode Type

Square 2D grid. Small parts, electronics, and tiny labels.

Barcode Data

Customize

Cell Color

Background

Module size (6)

The side of one cell. A 2D code's shape is fixed by your data, so this is the only size control here — use Print width below to fix the finished size.

Preview

Enter data to see preview

Format

Print width

Resolution

Runs in your browser. Nothing to install.

The picker above also holds GS1 DataMatrix, Aztec and PDF417, plus ten linear symbologies. All fourteen live on the barcode generator.

How it works

How a Data Matrix Code Works

A Data Matrix is a square grid of light and dark cells — modules — wrapped in a finder pattern that tells a reader where the symbol is, which way up it sits, and how big its grid is.

The solid L

A continuous dark line runs down the left edge and along the bottom. That L is what a scanner locks onto first, and it fixes the symbol's orientation — which is why a Data Matrix reads at any rotation.

The clock track

The top and right edges alternate dark and light, one module at a time. Counting those transitions is how the reader works out the grid size before it decodes a single data cell.

ECC200 inside

Everything within those edges is your data plus Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords — the ECC200 scheme in ISO/IEC 16022. A damaged or partly obscured symbol still decodes.

That structure is why Data Matrix ended up on the things nothing else fits on: circuit boards, surgical instruments, aerospace parts, ampoules and blister packs. It carries more in less area than a linear barcode, it survives a scratched or partly covered mark, and it needs only one clear module around it rather than the ten a Code 128 demands. QRKIT draws the symbol in your browser as you type — the encoder runs client-side, so the data you enter is not sent anywhere to be turned into a code. Wondering how this compares with a QR code or a linear barcode? That is covered in full on our QR code vs barcode comparison.

Specs

What This Generator Does, Exactly

Including the limits. A tool that only lists what it can do is harder to plan a label run around than one that tells you where it stops.

Property	Value	Notes
Symbology	Data Matrix ECC200	The Reed-Solomon version defined in ISO/IEC 16022, and the only one modern readers expect.
Character set	Standard ASCII (U+0000–U+007F)	Anything above U+007F is refused, not mangled. See “Why non-ASCII is refused” below.
Case handling	Exactly as typed	Nothing is auto-uppercased — uppercasing a URL payload would change where it points.
Input length here	Up to 512 characters	A limit of this page’s single-line field, not of the standard. It caps the symbol at 88×88 modules — 512 digits fit a 64×64 grid, mixed text or a URL that long lands at 80×80 or 88×88.
Symbology capacity	Up to 1,556 bytes	What ECC200 itself holds at its largest size. Most real codes carry a fraction of it.
Shape	Always square	The generator emits square symbols only; no rectangular (DMRE) variants.
Quiet zone	1 module on all four sides	The ISO/IEC 16022 minimum, drawn into the exported file. Never crop tighter than this.
Smallest cell we advise	0.254 mm (10 mil)	GS1’s smallest listed X-dimension. ISO/IEC 16022 sets no minimum — the real limit is your printer or marker.
Export formats	PNG, SVG, PDF	SVG and PDF are genuine vector. There is no EPS export.
Raster resolution	72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI	Paired with a target print width in mm, inches or pixels.
Design controls	Cell colour, background, module size	That is the whole list for a 2D symbol. No logo, no gradient, no custom cell shapes, no frame.
Batch size	Up to 500 codes at once	A browser-memory cap, identical for everyone. Signing in does not raise it.
Code type	Static	The data lives in the symbol. No redirects, no scan counts, no editing after download.

Not on the list, and deliberately: GS1-128. There is also no barcode API, no Excel add-in and no font. PDF417 used to sit in this paragraph too — it joined the tool on 2026-07-30, so the picker above now has it, and the PDF417 generator has the detail. One caveat carried over from that page: we generate the symbology, not driver’s-licence data — there is no AAMVA payload builder anywhere in the tool.

An honest limit

Why Non-ASCII Input Is Refused

Type café into the generator and it will not encode it. That is a decision, not a bug, and here is the reasoning in full.

A Data Matrix carries bytes, not characters. ISO/IEC 16022 says a reader should interpret those bytes as ISO 8859-1 unless the symbol contains an ECI designator declaring a different character set. This generator emits no ECI designator. So an accented or non-Latin character would be encoded as UTF-8 bytes that no reader has been told to read as UTF-8, and the scan would come back as mojibake — a label that looks perfect, prints perfectly, and says the wrong thing.

Refusing beats printing a symbol that misreads. So anything above U+007F is rejected at the input with a message naming the cause, rather than silently accepted. Standard ASCII — letters, digits, punctuation, a URL, a serial or part number — encodes exactly as typed, with no case folding.

If you need accented or non-Latin text in a 2D code, use a QR code instead — QR codes handle UTF-8 payloads, and phone cameras read them. Create a text QR code.

Output

Vector SVG and PDF, at the Size You Will Actually Print

Most free Data Matrix tools hand you a PNG and leave the sizing to you. This one exports genuine vector and lets you state the finished dimensions up front.

SVG

Real rectangles written into the file, not a traced bitmap. Opens in Illustrator, Inkscape, CAD and label software, and scales to any size without softening an edge.

PDF

Also true vector — the symbol is redrawn with the PDF's own drawing primitives rather than an embedded image, so it stays sharp at press resolution.

PNG

The raster option, at 72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI. Fine for screens and office printers; reach for SVG or PDF when the file is going to a plate or an engraver.

Set the width, not a guess

Enter a target print width in millimetres, inches or pixels. The export is generated at exactly that size, so nothing has to be scaled up in another program afterwards. The one ceiling is 10,000 pixels per side — about 840 mm at 300 DPI — and the tool tells you on screen if a request runs into it.

A cell-size warning that means something

The tool works out how wide one cell will be at your chosen size and warns you below 0.254 mm — GS1's smallest listed X-dimension. That is the number a small-part mark lives or dies on.

Quiet zone included

One clear module on all four sides, the ISO/IEC 16022 minimum, is drawn into the file. Do not crop it away when you place the symbol in a layout.

What we do not do: we draw the symbol and export the file. Mark quality on the finished part — contrast, cell fill, grading against a print or direct-part-marking verification standard — depends on your printer, engraver and substrate, and is not something QRKIT measures, grades or certifies. Test a real printed sample with the scanner that will read it before committing to a run.

GS1

GS1 DataMatrix, as a First-Class Format

Same symbology, structured payload. Switch the format picker from Data Matrix to GS1 DataMatrix and the brackets in your data are parsed as GS1 application identifiers instead of literal characters.

What you type

(01)09521234543213(17)181119(10)AB-123

GTIN, expiry date, batch. Each application identifier in brackets, its value straight after it, nothing in between. Up to 128 characters in this field.

What the errors tell you

AI 01: Bad checksum

We check the structure — it must start with an AI in brackets and be a run of (AI)value pairs. Which identifiers exist, how long their fields are and whether a GTIN check digit is right come from the encoder’s own GS1 tables, and its message is passed through to you naming the field at fault.

Two limits worth knowing before you build a label. First, we generate the symbol only — the human-readable interpretation a GS1 label needs printed beside the code is part of your label layout, not part of the image we export. Second, QRKIT is not a GS1 conformance, verification or certification service, and nothing here is approved or endorsed by GS1; we encode what you enter and report what the encoder rejects. For the QR form of GS1 data — a GTIN, batch and expiry inside a web URL — see GS1 Digital Link QR codes.

In bulk

500 Data Matrix Codes From One Paste

Open Generate many at once underneath the generator, paste a column of serials or upload a CSV, and take the whole run in one download. No account, no upgrade prompt.

Paste or upload

One value per line, or a CSV. When your file has a header row the tool works out which column holds the codes, shows you the choice it made and lets you change it — so a name,sku export does not quietly encode the product names.

Three outputs

A ZIP of PNGs, a ZIP of SVGs, or a single PDF with one code per page. Files are numbered in input order, so the archive sorts back the way your list was written.

Nothing fails quietly

Every row runs through the same checks as the single-code field. Invalid rows are listed with their row numbers and left out of the download rather than silently producing a broken label.

About the 500-row cap. It is a browser-memory limit and nothing else — the batch is rendered on your own machine, and 500 codes at 300 DPI is already tens of megabytes held in memory. It is the same number for everyone, there is no account or plan that raises it, and when it bites the tool tells you exactly how many rows were left out so you can split the list and run the rest.

Step by step

How to Create a Data Matrix Code

Step 1

Enter the data

A serial number, a part number, a short URL — whatever the symbol should carry. The generator above is already set to Data Matrix and draws the code as you type. Standard ASCII only.

Step 2

Switch to GS1 if you need it

For GTIN, batch, expiry or serial written as (AI)value pairs, choose GS1 DataMatrix in the format picker so the brackets are read as application identifiers.

Step 3

Set the print size

Give it a target width in mm, inches or pixels, and pick 72–600 DPI for raster output. The tool reports the finished size and warns if one cell falls under 0.254 mm.

Step 4

Download

SVG or PDF for anything that will be printed, engraved or scaled; PNG for screens. No signup, no account, no watermark, and the code is yours to use commercially.

Reading one back is a different job. A phone’s built-in camera app usually recognises QR codes but does not read Data Matrix, so you will need a 2D imaging scanner or a scanner app that lists the symbology. QRKIT generates Data Matrix codes; it does not decode them.

Pricing

Free, and Free in the Way You Meant

“Free” usually turns out to mean free to preview. Here it means what it says: the Data Matrix generator on this page asks for no account to create a code and no account to download the file, stamps nothing on the output, and has no paid tier above it.

Included, at no cost

Free forever

Data Matrix (ECC200) and GS1 DataMatrix
Unlimited codes — no daily quota
PNG, SVG and vector PDF download
Print width in mm/in/px and 72–600 DPI
Bulk generation up to 500 at a time
No signup, no account, no card
No watermark on any export
Commercial use allowed

Not available at any price

Be clear about it

No dynamic or trackable Data Matrix. Every code here is static, so it cannot be edited after printing and its scans cannot be counted.
No barcode API or integration. No REST endpoint, no Zapier, no plugin, no library.
No GS1-128. The concatenated GS1 form of Code 128 is not in the tool. GS1 DataMatrix is, and carries the same element strings.
No decoding. This page generates Data Matrix codes; it does not read them.

Need a code you can change or measure instead? That is what a dynamic QR code is for — edit the destination after printing, and see scan counts. It is a different symbology and a different product, and unlike the barcode tool it involves an account. Learn about dynamic QR codes.

Data Matrix Generator — Frequently Asked Questions

: A Data Matrix is a square grid of black and white cells, called modules. Two of its edges are the finder pattern: a solid dark L runs down the left side and along the bottom, telling a reader where the symbol is and which way up it sits. The opposite two edges carry an alternating light-dark clock track, which tells the reader how many cells wide and tall the grid is. Everything inside those edges is data plus Reed-Solomon error-correction codewords — the ECC200 scheme defined in ISO/IEC 16022 — so a symbol keeps decoding when part of it is scratched, printed badly, or covered. Because the finder is on two edges rather than in the corners, a reader can lock onto a Data Matrix from any rotation, and the symbol stays readable at a fraction of the size a linear barcode needs.
: Type or paste the data into the generator at the top of this page — it already has Data Matrix selected — and the symbol is drawn in your browser as you type. Set the cell colour, the background and the module size if you want, then set a target print width in millimetres, inches or pixels and download PNG, SVG or PDF. There is no signup, no account and no watermark. Two things the tool checks for you: the data must be standard ASCII, and the finished cell size is compared against 0.254 mm so you get a warning before you print something too small to scan.
: Yes — free, with no account. This generator does not ask you to sign in to create a code or to download the file, it adds no watermark, and it asks for no card. There is no paid barcode tier at QRKIT to upgrade to: vector export, the DPI and print-width controls, GS1 DataMatrix and bulk generation are all in the free tool. The codes are yours to use commercially.
: With a dedicated 2D imaging scanner or a scanner app that lists Data Matrix among its symbologies. This matters more than people expect: a phone's built-in camera app usually recognises QR codes automatically but does not read Data Matrix, so pointing an iPhone or Android camera at one typically does nothing. Industrial handhelds and fixed-mount imagers read it as standard, and that is what Data Matrix is designed for — parts, instruments and packaging scanned by equipment, not by the public. QRKIT does not read or decode Data Matrix codes; this page generates them only.
: Yes. SVG and PDF are both true vector here — the symbol is drawn as real rectangles and written straight into the file, not traced from an image, so it stays crisp at any size and a plate-maker or laser engraver can use it directly. PNG is the raster option, exported at 72, 150, 300 or 600 DPI. There is no EPS export. If you want a scalable QR code instead, that is on our SVG QR code page.
: Same symbology, structured payload. A GS1 DataMatrix carries GS1 element strings — GTIN, batch, expiry, serial — written as (AI)value pairs, for example (01)09521234543213(17)181119(10)AB-123. It is the symbol GS1 asks for on regulated healthcare packaging. Pick “GS1 DataMatrix” in the format picker rather than plain Data Matrix and the brackets are parsed as application identifiers instead of literal characters. We check the structure — it has to start with an AI in brackets and be a run of (AI)value pairs — and leave which identifiers exist, how long their fields are and whether a GTIN check digit is right to the encoder’s own GS1 tables, so an error names the offending field, such as “AI 01: Bad checksum”. Two honest limits: the tool draws the symbol only, so the human-readable text a GS1 label needs goes in your label layout, and we are not a GS1 conformance or verification service. For the QR form of GS1 data, see GS1 Digital Link QR codes.
: Because encoding them would produce a label that scans back as something you never typed. A Data Matrix carries bytes, and ISO/IEC 16022 says a reader should interpret those bytes as ISO 8859-1 unless the symbol contains an ECI designator saying otherwise. This tool emits no ECI designator, so an accented or non-Latin character would go in as UTF-8 bytes and come out of the scanner as mojibake. Rather than hand you a symbol that silently misreads, the input is refused with a message naming the cause. So “café” and “日本語” are rejected, not mangled. Anything in standard ASCII — letters, digits, punctuation, a URL, a serial number — encodes exactly as typed, and nothing is auto-uppercased, because uppercasing a URL would change where it points.
: The symbology itself holds up to 1,556 bytes in its largest size. The input on this page accepts up to 512 characters, which is a limit of our single-line field rather than anything in the standard. How large the grid gets depends on what you type, because digits pack tighter than text: 512 digits fit a 64×64 symbol, while 512 characters of mixed text or a long URL land at 80×80 or 88×88. That 88×88 is the ceiling here — it holds 576 bytes, more than 512 characters can ever need. In practice most Data Matrix codes carry far less: a serial number, a part number, a short URL. The grid grows in fixed steps as you add data, so a longer payload means more cells in the same square, which means each cell is smaller at the same print width.
: Smaller than a linear barcode, but the limit is your printing or marking process, not the symbology. ISO/IEC 16022 sets no minimum cell size; GS1's smallest listed X-dimension for GS1 DataMatrix is 0.254 mm — ten thousandths of an inch — and this generator warns you when the export you have set up would put a cell below that. Two other rules matter as much: leave the quiet zone alone (a Data Matrix needs one clear module on all four sides, which the tool draws into the file for you, so never crop tight to the symbol), and keep real contrast between the cells and the background. Test a printed sample with the scanner that will actually be used before committing to a run.
: Yes. Open “Generate many at once” under the generator, paste a column of values or upload a CSV, and download the batch as a ZIP of PNGs, a ZIP of SVGs, or a single PDF with one code per page. Up to 500 rows run at a time. That cap is a browser-memory limit, not a plan limit — it is the same 500 for everyone, signing in does not raise it, and the tool tells you exactly how many rows were left out so nothing is dropped silently. Every row is checked with the same rules as the single-code field, so an invalid value is reported with its row number instead of quietly producing a broken label.
: No. This is a web tool: there is no Excel or Word add-in, no font, no Python library, no desktop application and no barcode API. What it does cover is the batch case those are usually wanted for — export your spreadsheet column to CSV, or copy it straight out of the sheet and paste it into the bulk panel, and you get every code back in one download. Everything QRKIT does generate — fourteen formats, PDF417 among them — is listed on the barcode generator.
: No. Both are 2D matrix symbologies and both hold far more than a linear barcode, but they are different standards with different finder patterns and different readers. Data Matrix is the one specified for marking small parts and regulated packaging, and it is read by scanning equipment; QR is the one a phone camera picks up, which is why marketing uses it. The full side-by-side is on our QR code vs barcode comparison.
: Not with a Data Matrix. Every code this tool makes is static: the data is inside the symbol, so once it is printed it says what it says forever, and nothing routes through us to be counted. There are no scan analytics, no redirects and no editing after download — that is a property of the symbology, not a feature we are holding back. If you need a code whose destination you can change later, or scan counts, use a dynamic QR code instead.

Get started

Generate Your Data Matrix

ECC200 or GS1 DataMatrix, drawn in your browser, exported as vector SVG, PDF or PNG at the size you will print it. No signup, no watermark.

ECC200 & GS1 DataMatrixVector SVG and PDFUp to 500 at onceCommercial use allowed

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