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Terms of use

The rules for using Data Matrix Code Generator, in plain words. Short version: use it freely, have the right to the data you encode, and test-scan before printing in bulk.

Effective

On this page 12 sections
  1. Who we are
  2. Using the free tools
  3. Your data and identifiers
  4. Testing before you print
  5. The free API
  6. Acceptable use
  7. Our site, your codes and trademarks
  8. Pro, API and the waitlist
  9. Changes to the service
  10. Liability
  11. Governing law and disputes
  12. Changes to these terms

The short version

  • The tools are free and you can use the codes and labels you make commercially, including on products you sell.
  • You must have the right to use the data you encode, such as GTINs and serial numbers. We don't issue identifiers or check who owns them.
  • Test-scan before printing in bulk. We can't guarantee a scanner, customer or trading partner will accept a code.
  • Nothing can be bought yet. Pro and API terms will be published before they open.

Who we are

Data Matrix Code Generator at datamatrixcodegenerator.com (the "site") is provided by Glenwhisper Limited, a company incorporated in Hong Kong (glenwhisper.com), "we" or "us".Business Registration No. 76935415. Registered office: Unit 1603, 16th Floor, The L. Plaza, 367-375 Queen's Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong.

These terms apply whenever you use the site, including its tools, guides and forms. By using the site you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use the site. You can reach us through our contact form.

Using the free tools

You can use the free tools without an account and without paying. Today the free tools let you make single codes, and batches of up to 5,000 rows and 5,000 codes in each export. The current limits are always shown on the pricing page.

You may use the codes, labels and images you make for any lawful purpose, including commercial use. That includes printing them on parts, products, packaging and documents. You don't need to credit us, and the codes never expire: they are ordinary image files that keep working whether or not you use the site again.

Your data and identifiers

Data Matrix Code Generator turns data you already have into Data Matrix codes. We do not issue, sell, license or look up GTINs or other identifiers, and we are not affiliated with GS1.

  • You are responsible for having the right to use the data you encode, for example a GTIN licensed to your company by GS1, or serial numbers from your own system, and for making sure it is correct.
  • When the GS1 form says "Supported GS1 fields passed syntax checks", it means only that the fields it supports have the right format and check digits. It does not mean a GTIN is registered or assigned to you, or that a trading partner or regulator will accept the code.
  • "Data decoded successfully" means our software read the downloaded file back to the same data. It is not a print-quality grade. The tool keeps your data exactly as entered and never changes it without telling you. Please check your data before you print.

Testing before you print

We make codes to the ECC 200 standard and lay out labels using the dimensions published by label manufacturers. Even so, printers, drivers, settings, label stock, marking methods and scanners vary, and many of these are outside our control.

  • Print a test page and scan it with the scanner you will use before printing in bulk.
  • Print at actual size (100%), not "fit to page", keep the blank quiet zone around each code, and check that the labels line up with your stock.
  • We do not guarantee that a code will scan, or that a scanner, customer, trading partner, regulator or barcode verifier will accept it, or that it will achieve a particular verification grade (such as an ISO/IEC 15415 grade). "Data decoded successfully" is a software check of the file, not of your print. Some industries, such as pharmaceuticals and medical devices, have their own marking requirements, so check them before you print.

The free API

The render API at /api/v1/datamatrix is free to use without a key, within its limits: currently up to 2,000 new images a day from one connection, and short bursts above about 60 a minute may be slowed. Repeating a GET request that is already cached does not count (POST requests are never cached). The current limits are on the API docs page and the pricing page.

  • You may use the images it returns like any other code you make here, including in apps, spreadsheets, websites and printed labels, without crediting us.
  • Fair use: please don't get around the limits (for example by spreading requests across many connections), and don't build a high-volume service on the free tier. If you need more, tell us through the contact form: higher limits are planned.
  • Don't send data you are not allowed to share. The API has to receive the value to draw it, and with a GET request the value is part of the web address. Use POST for private data. Our privacy policy explains what happens to requests.
  • While it is free, the API comes with no uptime promise. We may change the limits, block abusive use, or pause it. If we ever change how version 1 works in a way that breaks existing requests, we will announce it on the docs page first.

Acceptable use

Please use the site fairly. You must not:

  • use it to break the law, or to make codes or labels intended to mislead anyone about what a product is, who made it or where it came from;
  • encode identifiers you know belong to someone else's products in order to pass your goods off as theirs;
  • try to break, overload or get around the limits or security of the site, or scrape it with automated tools in a way that harms other users;
  • send spam, malware or abusive messages through the forms.

We may block access from anyone who breaks these rules.

Our site, your codes and trademarks

The site, its design, code and guides belong to Glenwhisper Limited or the people we license them from. You are welcome to link to any page and to quote short passages with a link back. Please don't copy whole guides or the site itself. Some downloads, such as the sizes table, carry an open license that is stated in the file; you may reuse those under that license.

The codes you make and the data you enter are yours. We claim no rights in them, and because codes are made in your browser, we don't receive that data at all (the API is the exception: it receives the one value you send it, to draw it). How we handle the data we do receive is set out in our privacy policy.

GS1, GS1 DataMatrix and GTIN are trademarks of GS1 AISBL. Other product and company names belong to their owners. We mention them only to explain how codes work, and doing so does not mean they endorse us or we endorse them.

Pro and higher API limits are planned but cannot be bought yet. Joining the waitlist is free and does not commit you to anything. Planned prices and features on the pricing page may change before launch.

Before anyone can pay, we will publish separate terms covering billing, renewals, cancellation and refunds. Those terms will apply to paid plans in addition to these.

Changes to the service

We work to keep the site available and accurate, but the free service is provided as it is and as available. We may change, add or remove features, label stocks or limits, and we may pause the site for maintenance. Where a change takes away something you rely on, we will try to give notice on the site first.

Liability

The free tools and guides are provided without any promise that they will be error-free or suit your particular purpose, except where the law does not allow such promises to be excluded. Guides are general information, not legal or professional advice.

To the extent the law allows, we are not responsible for losses that come from using the site or the API, including the cost of labels or marking, reprinting, relabeling, rejected shipments, lost sales, fees or chargebacks, or delays. Testing a code before printing in bulk is the best protection against these.

Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be limited or excluded by law. If you use the site as a consumer, you keep all the rights the law gives you.

Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The courts of Hong Kong can deal with any dispute about them, but they are not the only place you can go (their jurisdiction is non-exclusive).

If you use the site as a consumer, for example in the UK, the European Union or the United States, you keep the protection of any rules in the law where you live that cannot be overridden by a contract, and you can bring a claim in your local courts where that law allows it. Before going to court, please tell us what went wrong. Most problems can be fixed with a message.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the site changes, for example when paid plans launch. We will change the effective date at the top when we do. If you keep using the site after an update, the new terms apply. Questions about these terms? Contact us.