Aztec Code symbology.

Zebra Technologies has added the Aztec Code barcode symbology to its desktop printer line. The application of the symbology includes patient wristbands and labels for unit-of-use medications, IV mixtures, blood products and specimens. Aztec Code is a high-density two-dimensional matrix style barcode symbology that can encode up to 3750 characters from the entire 256-byte ASCII character set. The symbological data is encoded in a series of "layers" that circle around a bulls-eye pattern. This eliminates the need for a quiet zone between symbols, as in other 2-D symbologies, allowing it to be read in any position. Zebra Technologies Corp., Vernon Hills, Ill.

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