What the standard covers
ISO/IEC 16022 specifies the Data Matrix symbology: its L-shaped finder, the dotted clock track on the opposite two edges, the symbol sizes, the encodation schemes and the error correction. It also sets out the reference decoding algorithm and print quality requirements.
The current form, ECC 200, uses Reed–Solomon error correction and is what nearly all modern Data Matrix codes use. The older ECC 000 to ECC 140 variants used convolutional coding and are kept only for legacy applications.
Sizes and capacity
ECC 200 symbols come in square sizes from 10 × 10 to 144 × 144 modules and a set of rectangular sizes. The largest square symbol holds up to 3,116 digits, 2,335 alphanumeric characters or 1,556 bytes.
Additional rectangular sizes, known as DMRE, were later standardized separately in ISO/IEC 21471. Data Matrix needs a quiet zone of one module, much narrower than the four modules of a QR code.
- Square sizes: 10 × 10 to 144 × 144 modules
- Largest capacity: 3,116 digits or 1,556 bytes
- Error correction: Reed–Solomon (ECC 200)
- Quiet zone: 1 module
Editions and use
The first ISO edition was published in 2000 and the second in 2006. The 2006 edition remained the main reference for many years, until a third edition was published in 2024. Industry rules such as GS1 DataMatrix build on this standard by adding the FNC1 character and GS1 application identifiers.
Data Matrix is widely used for small-part marking, electronics, pharmaceuticals and healthcare labels, where its compact size and tolerance of direct part marking are useful.