DotCode Generator
Generate a DotCode, a two dimensional code made of separate dots that high speed inkjet and laser printers can mark on cigarette packs, cans and bottles. The tool encodes your text with Reed Solomon error correction, chooses a suitable symbol size and draws the dot pattern as a PNG image or an SVG file. It helps packaging engineers prepare test codes and track and trace samples.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DotCode?
DotCode is a two dimensional symbology in which data is stored in a grid of isolated dots rather than touching squares. It was designed for printing at high speed with inkjet or laser marking, where dots cannot be joined reliably.
What can I encode?
Any text, including digits, letters, punctuation and accented characters encoded as UTF-8, up to 450 characters in this tool. Longer data produces a larger symbol.
How is the symbol size chosen?
The tool calculates a width and height that hold the data with the required error correction and keeps the shape close to a wide rectangle. DotCode sizes follow the rule that the number of rows and columns differ in parity.
Where is DotCode used?
DotCode is used for tobacco track and trace codes in the European Union and for marking beverage cans, bottles and other fast moving packaging lines.
Can I download the DotCode as a vector file?
Yes. Choose SVG for a vector file that stays sharp at any size in print and design software, or PNG for a raster image that works in documents, web pages and label printers. Both come with a white background and a white margin.
What does the scale do?
The scale from 1 to 10, default 3, sets the size of each dot and the spacing between them. Large texts at a high scale can exceed the 4000 pixel limit, in which case lower the scale.
Can I use the generated code for regulated tobacco products?
Regulated codes must contain the unique identifier issued by the authorized ID issuer in the exact required format. You can encode such a string, but the tool does not create or validate those identifiers.
Can phones read DotCode?
Only specialized apps and industrial readers decode DotCode. Test the code with the reader used on your line.
Why are there no bar height or text options?
DotCode is a matrix of dots without bars or a human readable line, so only the format and the scale apply.
Is my text stored?
No. The text is used only to draw the code you download.