Aztec · PDF417 · Data Matrix

The three non-QR 2D symbologies Abundera supports. They look similar, they all carry hundreds of bytes in a compact matrix, but they're optimised for different jobs and have different native-scanner support. This page is the field guide for picking the right one — and for knowing when a phone camera will and won't read what you print.

Aztec: ISO/IEC 24778:2008 — the 2D barcode on every airline boarding pass and transit ticket.
PDF417: ISO/IEC 15438:2015 — the stacked-linear barcode on every US driver license back.
Data Matrix: ISO/IEC 16022:2006 — the square matrix code on pharma vials, electronic parts, and medical devices.

Side-by-side comparison

	Aztec	PDF417	Data Matrix
Shape	Square, bullseye finder in centre	Rectangular, stacked linear	Square, L-shaped finder in two corners
Max capacity (alphanumeric)	~3,067 chars	~1,800 chars	~2,335 chars
Module size at max	151 × 151	Variable (rows × cols)	144 × 144
Error correction	Reed-Solomon, 5%–95% selectable	Reed-Solomon, levels 0–8 (selectable)	Reed-Solomon, fixed by size (ECC 200)
Quiet zone required	None	2× module width	1 module
Natively made for	Low-contrast surfaces (phone screens, crumpled tickets)	Long payloads on standard paper (licenses, airbills)	Direct-part marking (DPM): laser-etched metal, pharma labels
Consortium / owner	Welch Allyn (now Honeywell), open	Symbol Technologies (now Zebra), open	ID Matrix (now Microscan/Omron), open

Native-scanner support

This is the deciding factor for most real-world choices. None of the three are decoded natively by Apple iPhone Camera; Android Camera behaviour varies by OEM.

Reader	Aztec	PDF417	Data Matrix
iOS Camera (iOS 15+)	No	License-aware flow in iOS 17+ for AAMVA payloads	No
Android Camera (stock Google, Pixel)	Some OEMs	Partial	Yes (Google Lens)
Google Lens	Unreliable	Unreliable	Yes
Zebra / Honeywell / Datalogic industrial imager	Yes	Yes	Yes
Scandit SDK	Yes	Yes	Yes
Airline / transit gate reader	Yes (canonical use)	Some boarding passes	No
US DMV / bar / kiosk reader	No	Yes (canonical use)	No
Pharma / medical DPM reader (ISO 29158)	No	No	Yes (canonical use)

Pick the right one

Use Aztec when

You're generating a boarding pass, transit ticket, or electronic ID that will be scanned by a dedicated gate reader or phone screen. Aztec is the only 2D symbology designed to decode reliably from a low-contrast phone display behind a thumb smudge; that's why IATA BCBP chose it for boarding passes in 2005.

Use PDF417 when

You need a long ASCII payload (1–2 KB) on flat paper that will be read by a 1D/2D laser scanner at close range. Canonical uses: the back of every US driver license (AAMVA), FedEx airbills, US passports, CA healthcare cards, many government forms.

Use Data Matrix when

You're marking small physical parts — pharma vials (FDA UDI, EU MDR), electronic components, surgical instruments, jet-engine blades. Data Matrix survives laser-etching, direct-part marking, and dot-peen on metal where no other symbology does. ISO/IEC 29158 defines DPM-grade quality scoring specifically for it.

Use QR instead when

The target is a consumer phone camera. Every smartphone reads QR natively; none read these three reliably. If your print will be scanned by the general public, use QR and accept the slightly lower data density — the tradeoff of universal decodability is worth it.

Canonical test vectors

Symbology	Payload	Expected substring(s)
Aztec, short URL	`https://example.com/board/AB12`	`example.com/board/AB12`
Aztec, long ticket payload	`M1DOE/JOHN EABC123 AB1234 DEPART ARR 12JAN …`	`M1DOE/JOHN`
PDF417, GS1 airbill	`123456789012345 FEDEX 2026-04-20`	`FEDEX`
PDF417, AAMVA driver license	`@\n\x1e\rANSI 636014100002DL…`	`ANSI 636014`
Data Matrix, pharma UDI	`(01)09506000134352(17)270630(10)ABC123`	`09506000134352`
Data Matrix, electronic part SN	`PN:4321-ABC SN:00001234`	`4321-ABC`

Common pitfalls

Consumer phone cameras won't decode these. This is the single most common mistake — printing a PDF417 or Aztec on marketing material. iPhone Camera returns nothing; most Android cameras do the same. Use QR for general consumer signage.
Quiet zones are different per symbology. Aztec needs none; PDF417 needs 2 modules; Data Matrix needs 1. QR-specific rules don't transfer.
Direct-part marking requires ISO/IEC 29158 grading. Phone-camera verification is not sufficient for pharma or aerospace DPM. Use a DPM verifier (Microscan, Cognex, Dynamsoft).
AAMVA payloads must use PDF417. The spec mandates PDF417 specifically — not QR, not Aztec, not Data Matrix. See the AAMVA standards page.
ECC selection matters. Aztec 5% ECC is extremely fragile; 23% is the default for a reason. PDF417 level 5 is the real-world default. Data Matrix ECC is tied to symbol size (ECC 200 is fixed).
Styling disabled for all three. QR-only features (custom dots, eyes, gradients, centre logos) don't apply. Abundera disables the Style panel for these types — see capability banner.