ISO/IEC 16022:2006

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 16022
Second edition
2006-09-15
Information technology — Automatic
identification and data capture
techniques — Data Matrix bar code
symbology specification
Technologies de l'information — Techniques d'identification
automatique et de capture des données — Spécification de symbologie
de code à barres Data Matrix
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2006
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ii © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. vii
Introduction . viii
1 Scope. 1
2 Normative references. 1
3 Terms, definitions, symbols and abbreviated terms, and mathematical/logical notations . 2
3.1 Terms and definitions. 2
3.2 Symbols and abbreviations . 2
3.3 Mathematical/logical notations . 3
4 Symbol description. 3
4.1 Basic characteristics. 3
4.2 Summary of additional features . 4
4.3 Symbol structure . 4
4.3.1 Finder pattern. 5
4.3.2 Symbol sizes and capacities . 5
5 ECC 200 requirements. 5
5.1 Encode procedure overview. 5
5.2 Data encodation. 6
5.2.1 Overview. 6
5.2.2 Default character interpretation . 6
5.2.3 ASCII encodation . 7
5.2.4 Symbology control characters. 7
5.2.5 C40 encodation. 9
5.2.6 Text encodation . 11
5.2.7 ANSI X12 encodation. 11
5.2.8 EDIFACT encodation . 12
5.2.9 Base 256 encodation. 12
5.3 User considerations . 13
5.3.1 User selection of Extended Channel Interpretation . 13
5.3.2 User selection of symbol size and shape . 13
5.4 Extended Channel Interpretation . 13
5.4.1 Encoding ECIs. 14
5.4.2 ECIs and Structured Append. 15
5.4.3 Post-decode protocol. 15
5.5 ECC 200 symbol attributes . 15
5.5.1 Symbol sizes and capacity . 15
5.5.2 Insertion of Alignment Patterns into larger symbols. 17
5.6 Structured Append . 17
5.6.1 Basic principles. 17
5.6.2 Symbol sequence indicator . 17
5.6.3 File identification . 18
5.6.4 FNC1 and Structured Append . 18
5.6.5 Buffered and unbuffered operation . 18
5.7 Error detection and correction . 18
5.7.1 Reed-Solomon error correction. 18
5.7.2 Generating the error correction codewords . 18
5.7.3 Error correction capacity . 19
5.8 Symbol construction . 20
5.8.1 Symbol character placement. 20
5.8.2 Alignment Pattern module placement . 20
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved iii

5.8.3 Finder Pattern module placement . 20
6 ECC 000 - 140 requirements. 21
6.1 Use recommendations. 21
6.2 Encode procedure overview . 21
6.3 Data encodation . 21
6.3.1 Base 11 - Numeric encodation. 23
6.3.2 Base 27 - Upper-case Alphabetic encodation. 23
6.3.3 Base 37 - Upper-case Alphanumeric encodation . 23
6.3.4 Base 41 - Upper-case Alphanumeric plus Punctuation encodation. 24
6.3.5 ASCII encodation . 24
6.3.6 8-bit byte encodation . 24
6.4 User selection of error correction level. 24
6.4.1 Selection of error correction level. 24
6.4.2 Other error correction levels based on convolutional code algorithms . 25
6.5 Constructing the Unprotected Bit Stream . 25
6.5.1 Format ID Bit Field . 25
6.5.2 CRC Bit Field . 25
6.5.3 Data Length Bit Field . 25
6.5.4 Data prefix construction. 25
6.5.5 Completing the Unprotected Bit Stream. 26
6.6 Constructing the Unrandomised Bit Stream.26
6.6.1 Header construction . 26
6.6.2 Applying convolutional coding to create the Protected Bit Stream . 26
6.6.3 Trailer construction. 27
6.6.4 Completing the Unrandomised Bit Stream. 27
6.7 Pattern randomising . 27
6.8 Module placement in matrix. 27
7 Symbol dimensions . 27
7.1 Dimensions. 27
7.2 Quiet zone. 27
8 Symbol quality. 27
8.1 Symbol quality parameters . 28
8.1.1 Fixed pattern damage . 28
8.1.2 Scan grade and overall symbol grade . 28
8.1.3 Grid non-uniformity . 28
8.2 Process control measurements. 28
9 Reference decode algorithm for Data Matrix . 28
10 User guidelines. 38
10.1 Human readable interpretation. 38
10.2 Autodiscrimination capability. 38
10.3 System considerations. 38
11 Transmitted data . 38
11.1 Protocol for FNC1 (ECC 200 only). 38
11.2 Protocol for FNC1 in the second position (ECC 200 only) . 38
11.3 Protocol for Macro characters in the first position (ECC 200 only). 38
11.4 Protocol for ECIs (ECC 200 only) . 39
11.5 Symbology identifier. 39
11.6 Transmitted data example. 39
Annex A (normative) ECC 200 interleaving process. 40
A.1 Schematic illustration. 40
A.2 Starting sequence for interleaving in different sized symbols . 40
Annex B (normative) ECC 200 pattern randomising. 43
B.1 253-state algorithm. 43
B.1.1 253-state randomising algorithm. 43
B.1.2 253-state un-randomising algorithm. 43
B.2 255-state algorithm. 44
iv © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

B.2.1 255-state randomising algorithm . 44
B.2.2 255-state un-randomising algorithm. 44
Annex C (normative) ECC 200 encodation character sets. 45
C.1 C40 encodation character set. 45
C.2 Text encodation character set. 46
C.3 EDIFACT encodation character set. 47
Annex D (normative) ECC 200 alignment patterns . 48
Annex E (normative) ECC 200 Reed-Solomon error detection and correction . 50
E.1 Error correction codeword generator polynomials. 50
E.2 Error correction calculation. 52
E.3 Calculation of error correction codewords. 53
Annex F (normative) ECC 200 symbol character placement. 55
F.1 Symbol character placement. 55
F.2 Symbol character placement rules . 57
F.2.1 Non-standard symbol character shapes . 57
F.2.2 Symbol character arrangement. 60
F.3 Symbol character placement examples for ECC 200. 63
Annex G (normative) ECC 000 - 140 symbol attributes. 68
G.1 ECC 000. 68
G.2 ECC 050. 69
G.3 ECC 080. 70
G.4 ECC 100. 71
G.5 ECC 140. 72
Annex H (normative) ECC 000 - 140 data module placement grids . 73
Annex I (normative) ECC 000 - 140 character encodation schemes. 90
I.1 Base 11 encodation scheme. 94
I.1.1 First stage procedure . 94
I.1.2 Second stage procedure. 94
I.1.3 Example. 94
I.2 Base 27 encodation scheme. 95
I.2.1 First stage procedure . 95
I.2.2 Second stage procedure. 95
I.2.3 Example. 95
I.3 Base 37 encodation scheme. 96
I.3.1 First stage procedure . 96
I.3.2 Second stage procedure. 96
I.3.3 Example. 96
I.4 Base 41 encodation scheme. 97
I.4.1 First stage procedure . 97
I.4.2 Second stage procedure. 97
I.4.3 Example. 97
Annex J (normative) ECC 000 - 140 CRC algorithm . 98
J.1 CRC state machine . 98
J.2 CRC polynomial . 98
J.3 CRC 2-byte header. 98
Annex K (normative) ECC 000 - 140 error checking and correcting algorithms . 100
K.1 ECC 000. 100
K.2 ECC 050. 100
K.3 ECC 080. 100
K.4 ECC 100. 100
K.5 ECC 140. 100
K.6 Processing the convolutional code . 100
K.7 Convolutional codes reference decode algorithm . 101
Annex L (normative) ECC 000 - 140 Master Random Bit Stream (in hexadecimal). 104
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved v

Annex M (normative) Data Matrix print quality – symbology-specific aspects . 105
M.1 Data Matrix Fixed Pattern Damage. 105
M.1.1 Features to be assessed . 105
M.1.2 Grading of the outside L of the fixed pattern . 105
M.1.3 Grading of the clock track and adjacent solid area segments. 107
M.1.4 Calculation and grading of average grade . 111
M.2 Scan grade. 112
Annex N (normative) Symbology identifier. 113
Annex O (informative) ECC 200 encode example. 114
Annex P (informative) Encoding data using the minimum symbol data characters for ECC 200. 116
Annex Q (informative) ECC 000 - 140 encode example using ECC 050. 120
Q.1 Encode example. 120
Q.2 CRC calculation for example . 125
Annex R (informative) Useful process control techniques . 128
R.1 Symbol contrast . 128
R.2 Special reference symbol. 128
R.3 Assessing Axial Nonuniformity. 129
R.4 Visual inspection for symbol distortion and defects . 129
Annex S (informative) Autodiscrimination capability . 130
Annex T (informative) System considerations . 131
Bibliography . 132

vi © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC 16022 was prepared by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology,
Subcommittee SC 31, Automatic identification and data capture techniques.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 16022:2000), which has been technically
revised. It also incorporates the Technical Corrigendum ISO/IEC 16022:2000/Cor.1:2004.
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved vii

Introduction
Data Matrix is a two-dimensional matrix symbology which is made up of nominally square modules arranged
within a perimeter finder pattern. Though primarily shown and described in this International Standard as a
dark symbol on light background, Data Matrix symbols can also be printed to appear as light on dark.
Manufacturers of bar code equipment and users of the technology require publicly available standard
symbology specifications to which they can refer when developing equipment and application standards. The
publication of standardised symbology specifications is designed to achieve this.

viii © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 16022:2006(E)

Information technology — Automatic identification and data
capture techniques — Data Matrix bar code symbology
specification
1 Scope
This International Standard defines the requirements for the symbology known as Data Matrix. It specifies the
Data Matrix symbology characteristics, data character encodation, symbol formats, dimensions and print
quality requirements, error correction rules, decoding algorithm, and user-selectable application parameters.
It applies to all Data Matrix symbols produced by any printing or marking technology.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/IEC 15424, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Data
Carrier Identifiers (including Symbology Identifiers)
ISO/IEC 19762-1, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 1: General terms relating to AIDC
ISO/IEC 19762-2, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 2: Optically readable media (ORM)
ISO/IEC 15415, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code
print quality test specification — Two-dimensional symbols
ISO/IEC 15416, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — Bar code
print quality test specification — Linear symbols
ISO/IEC 646:1991, Information technology — ISO 7-bit coded character set for information interchange
ISO/IEC 8859-1, Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part 1: Latin
alphabet No. 1
ISO/IEC 8859-5:1999, Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part 5:
Latin/Cyrillic alphabet
AIM Inc. ITS/04-001 International Technical Standard: Extended Channel Interpretations — Part 1:
Identification Schemes and Protocol
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved 1

3 Terms, definitions, symbols and mathematical/logical notations
3.1 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 19762-1, ISO/IEC 19762-2 and
the following apply.
3.1.1
codeword
symbol character value, an intermediate level of coding between source data and the graphical encodation in
the symbol
3.1.2
module
single cell in a matrix symbology used to encode one bit of data, nominally a square shape in Data Matrix
3.1.3
convolutional coding
error checking and correcting (ECC) algorithm that processes a set of input bits into a set of output bits that
can recover from damage by breaking the input bits into blocks, then convolving each input block with the
contents of a multi-stage shift register to produce protected output blocks
NOTE These encoders can be constructed in hardware using input and output switches, shift registers, and
exclusive-or (XOR) gates.
3.1.4
pattern randomising
procedure to convert an original bit pattern to another bit pattern, intended to reduce the probability of
repeating patterns occurring in the symbol, by inverting selected bits
3.2 Symbols
For the purposes of this document, the following mathematical symbols apply unless defined locally.
d number of error correction codewords
e number of erasures
k (for ECC 000 - 140) the number of bits in a complete segment input to the state machine to generate the
convolutional code (for ECC 200) total number of error correction codewords
m the memory order of the convolutional code
n (for ECC 000 - 140) the number of bits in a complete segment generated by the state machine producing
the convolutional code (for ECC 200) total number of data codewords
N the numerical base in an encodation scheme
p number of codewords reserved for error detection
S symbol character
t number of errors
u the input bit segment to the state machine, taken k bits at a time
v the output bit segment from the state machine, generated n bits at a time
2 © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

X horizontal and vertical width of a module
ε error correction codeword
3.3 Mathematical/logical notations
For the purposes of this document, the following notations and mathematical operations apply.
div integer division operator
mod integer remainder after division
XOR exclusive-or logic function whose output is one only when its two inputs are not equivalent.
LSB least significant bit
MSB most significant bit
4 Symbol description
4.1 Basic characteristics
Data Matrix is a two-dimensional matrix symbology.
There are two types:
ECC 200 which uses Reed-Solomon error correction. ECC 200 is recommended for new applications.
ECC 000 - 140 with several available levels of convolutional error correction, referred to as ECC 000,
ECC 050, ECC 080, ECC 100 and ECC 140 respectively. ECC 000 - 140 should only be used in closed
applications where a single party controls both the production and reading of the symbols and is responsible
for overall system performance.
The characteristics of Data Matrix are:
a) Encodable character set:
1) values 0 – 127 in accordance with the US national version of ISO/IEC 646
NOTE 1 This version consists of the G0 set of ISO/IEC 646 and the C0 set of ISO/IEC 6429 with values 28 – 31
modified to FS, GS, RS and US respectively.
2) values 128 - 255 in accordance with ISO 8859-1. These are referred to as extended ASCII.
b) Representation of data: A dark module is a binary one and a light module is a zero.
NOTE 2 This International Standard specifies Data Matrix symbols in terms of dark modules marked on a light
background. However, subclause 4.2 provides that symbols may also be produced with light and dark modules reversed in
colour (see 4.2), and in such symbols references in this International Standard to dark modules should be taken as
references to light modules, and vice versa.
c) Symbol size in modules (not including quiet zone):
ECC 200  10 x 10 to 144 x 144 even values only
ECC 000 – 140 9 x 9 to 49 x 49, odd values only
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved 3

d) Data characters per symbol (for maximum symbol size in ECC200):
1) Alphanumeric data: up to 2 335 characters
2) 8-bit byte data: 1 555 characters
3) Numeric data: 3 116 digits.
e) Selectable error correction:
ECC 200:  Reed-Solomon error correction.
ECC 000 - 140: Four levels of convolutional error correction, plus the option to apply only error
detection
f) Code type: Matrix
g) Orientation independence: Yes
4.2 Summary of additional features
The following summarises additional features which are inherent or optional in Data Matrix:
a) Reflectance reversal: (Inherent): Symbols are intended to be read when marked so that the image is
either dark on light or light on dark (see Figure 1). The specifications in this International Standard are
based on dark images on a light background, therefore references to dark or light modules should be
taken as references to light or dark modules respectively in the case of symbols produced with
reflectance reversal.
b) Extended Channel Interpretations: (ECC 200 only, optional): This mechanism enables characters from
other character sets (e.g. Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew) and other data interpretations or industry-
specific requirements to be represented.
c) Rectangular symbols: (ECC 200 only, optional): Six symbol formats are specified in a rectangular form.
d) Structured append: (ECC 200 only, optional): This allows files of data to be represented in up to 16 Data
Matrix symbols. The original data can be correctly reconstructed regardless of the order in which the
symbols are scanned.
4.3 Symbol structure
Each Data Matrix symbol consists of data regions which contain nominally square modules set out in a regular
array. In larger ECC 200 symbols, data regions are separated by alignment patterns. The data region, or set
of data regions and alignment patterns, is surrounded by a finder pattern, and this shall in turn be surrounded
on all four sides by a quiet zone border. Figure 1 illustrates an ECC 140 and two representations of an
ECC 200 symbol.
4 © ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved

(a) ECC200, dark on light (b) ECC200, light on dark (c) ECC140, dark on light

Figure 1 — ECC 200 (a & b) and ECC 140 (c) encoding "A1B2C3D4E5F6G7H8I9J0K1L2"
4.3.1 Finder pattern
The finder pattern is a perimeter to the data region and is one module wide. Two adjacent sides, the left and
lower sides, forming the L boundary, are solid dark lines; these are used primarily to determine physical size,
orientation and symbol distortion. The two opposite sides are made up of alternating dark and light modules.
These are used primarily to define the cell structure of the symbol, but also can assist in determining physical
size and distortion. The extent of the quiet zone is indicated by the corner marks in Figure 1.
4.3.2 Symbol sizes and capacities
ECC 200 symbols have an even number of rows and an even number of columns. Some symbols are square
with sizes from 10 x 10 to 144 x 144 not including quiet zones. Some symbols are rectangular with sizes from
8 x 18 to 16 x 48 not including quiet zones. All ECC 200 symbols can be recognised by the upper right corner
module being light. The complete attributes of ECC 200 symbols are given in Table 7 in Section 5.5.
ECC 000 - 140 symbols have an odd number of rows and an odd number of columns. Symbols are square
with sizes from 9 x 9 to 49 x 49 (modules) not including quiet zones. These symbols can be recognised by the
upper right corner module being dark. The complete attributes of ECC 000 - 140 symbols are given in
Annex G.
5 ECC 200 requirements
5.1 Encode procedure overview
This section provides an overview of the encoding procedure. Following sections will provide more details. An
encoding example for ECC 200 is given in Annex O. The following steps convert user data to an ECC 200
symbol:
Step 1: Data encodation
Analyse the data stream to identify the variety of different characters to be encoded. ECC 200
includes various encodation schemes which allow a defined set of characters to be converted into
codewords more efficiently than the default scheme. Insert additional codewords to switch between
the encodation schemes and to perform other functions. Add pad characters as needed to fill the
required number of codewords. If the user does not specify the matrix size, then choose the smallest
size that accommodates the data. A complete list of matrix sizes is shown in Section 5.5, Table 7.
© ISO/IEC 2006 – All rights reserved 5

Table 1 — Encodation schemes for ECC 200
Encodation scheme Characters Bits per data character
double digit numerics 4
ASCII ASCII values 0 - 127 8
Extended ASCII values 128 - 255 16
Upper-case alphanumeric 5,33
C40
a
Lower case and special characters
10,66
Lower-case alphanumeric 5,33
Text
b
Upper case and special characters
10,66
X12 ANSI X12 EDI data set 5,33
EDIFACT ASCII values 32 - 94 6
Base 256 All byte values 0 - 255 8

a
encoded as two C40 values as result of use of a shift character

b
encoded as two Text values as result of use of a shift character

Step 2: Error checking and correcting codeword generation
For symbols with more than 255 codewords, sub-divide the codeword stream into interleaved blocks
to enable the error correction algorithms to be processed as shown in Annex A. Generate the error
correction codewords for each block. The result of this process expands the codeword stream by the
number of error correction codewords. Place the error correction codewords after the data codewords.
Step 3: Module placement in matrix
Place the codeword modules in the matrix. Insert the alignment pattern modules, if any, in the matrix.
Add the finder pattern modules around the matrix.
5.2 Data encodation
5.2.1 Overview
The data may be encoded using any combination of six encodation schemes (see Table 1). ASCII encodation
is the basic scheme. All other encodation schemes are invoked from ASCII encodation and return to this
scheme. The compaction efficiencies given in Table 1 need to be interpreted carefully. The best scheme for a
given set of data may not be the one with the fewest bits per data character. If the highest degree of
compaction is required, account has to be taken of switching between encodation schemes and between code
sets within an encodation scheme (see Annex P). It should also be noted that even if the number of
codewords is minimised, the codeword stream might need to be expanded to fill a symbol. This fill process is
done using pad characters.
5.2.2 Default character interpretation
The default character interpretation for character values 0 to 127 shall conform to ISO/IEC 646. The default
character interpretation for character values 128 to 255 shall conform to ISO 8859-1: Latin Alphabet No. 1.
The graphical representation of data characters shown throughout this document complie
...