rMQR: the rectangular Micro QR code

rMQR is a rectangular QR variant standardised as ISO/IEC 23941 in 2022. Its 32 sizes run from 7 to 17 modules tall and 27 to 139 wide, holding up to 361 alphanumeric characters or 219 bytes. It suits shelf edges and cable labels, but phone cameras largely cannot read it yet.

Why a rectangular QR code exists

A square code wastes a narrow surface. A cable label, a shelf-edge ticket, the side of a vial, the edge of a PCB. These offer generous width and almost no height, geometry that 1D barcodes have owned for fifty years precisely because they are strips. rMQR (Rectangular Micro QR) brings QR's capacity and error correction to that strip-shaped world. It became an international standard, ISO/IEC 23941, in 2022, making it the newest member of the QR family and a separate document from the main ISO/IEC 18004 standard.

The shapes and what they hold

rMQR defines 32 sizes: heights of 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 or 17 modules, widths from 27 to 139. At the extremes:

Symbol	Modules	Shape
Smallest	7 × 43	a strip thinner than most barcodes
Largest	17 × 139	holds 505 numeric / 361 alphanumeric / 219 bytes

For comparison, Micro QR tops out at 35 digits and a standard version 40 QR at 7,089: rMQR sits usefully between them, carrying a serial number, a GS1 identifier or a short URL in a shape neither sibling manages.

Structurally, an rMQR symbol has one full finder pattern in the top-left and a smaller finder sub-pattern in the bottom-right corner, with corner and alignment patterns keeping long symbols geometrically honest. Error correction comes in two levels only, M (15%) and H (30%), dropping L and Q from the standard set.

The catch: who can read it

Support is the whole question with rMQR, and in 2026 the answer is still "check first":

Phone cameras: largely no. Stock iPhone and Android camera apps do not detect rMQR.
Industrial imagers: increasingly yes; Denso Wave and other major reader manufacturers support it, and it is aimed squarely at their market.
Software: patchy. Some open-source generators produce it; mainstream decode libraries mostly do not yet.

That makes the deployment rule identical to Micro QR's: rMQR is for closed loops where you specify the reading hardware. Put it on a consumer-facing label today and you have printed a decoration. If the surface is narrow but the public must scan it, the honest options are a small standard QR beside the text, or a 1D barcode if the payload is a simple identifier for your own systems.

Where it genuinely fits

Cable and wire marking, pharmaceutical vials and blisters, shelf-edge labels, PCB edges, cylindrical parts where a square code would wrap into unreadable curvature, anywhere with one long dimension, a controlled scanner fleet, and more data than a barcode carries comfortably. Whatever the surface, run the symbol through your actual production reader before committing a print run, the same verify-before-print habit that applies to every code format.

FAQ

What is an rMQR code?

rMQR, Rectangular Micro QR, is a QR variant standardised as ISO/IEC 23941 in 2022. It comes in 32 rectangular sizes from 7 x 43 to 17 x 139 modules, storing up to 361 alphanumeric characters or 219 bytes.

Can a phone scan an rMQR code?

Generally not yet. Stock camera apps on iPhone and Android do not detect rMQR. It is designed for industrial imagers, which increasingly support it, so it belongs in closed systems where you choose the reader.

How much data does an rMQR code hold?

The largest symbol, 17 x 139 modules, holds 505 numeric characters, 361 alphanumeric characters or 219 bytes. Error correction is available at 15% or 30%, and capacity falls as correction rises.

What is rMQR used for?

Narrow surfaces in industrial settings: cable labels, vials, blister packs, shelf-edge tickets and PCB marking. It carries more than a 1D barcode or Micro QR in the same strip-shaped footprint.