# Frame QR
> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/frame-qr
> research date 2026-06-03 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards
Specifications:
- [Frame QR | QRcode.com | DENSO WAVE](https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/frameqr.html)
- [Frame QR® | QR Code Solutions | DENSO WAVE](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/system/qr/product/frame.html)
- [DENSO WAVE Announces new QR Code with canvas area in the center](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/info/detail__272.html)
## Overview
Frame QR (stylized **FrameQR®**) is a proprietary QR Code variant developed by DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED that reserves a "canvas area" inside the symbol. In the centre of the code is a blank region "where graphics, letters, and more can be flexibly arranged, making it possible to lay out the code without losing the design of illustrations, photos, etc." [1][1]. The canvas can take a shape chosen from a template or a fully custom outline, with adjustable position, size and angle, and — per DENSO WAVE — "The canvas area does not interfere with code reading" [1][1]. The result is a heavily branded or illustrated code that is still meant to scan.
## History
Frame QR is an evolution of the base QR Code that DENSO WAVE (then part of DENSO Corporation) introduced in 1994 [3][3], which became an ISO/IEC international standard (ISO/IEC 18004) in 2000 [3][3] [4][4]. DENSO WAVE announced Frame QR on **September 15, 2014**, presenting it as a 2D code evolved from the standard QR Code to mark the symbology's 20th anniversary; the announcement described "blank 'canvas area' in the center of the code to accommodate design and information, where illustrations or pictures can be arranged without deteriorating its design" [5][5]. Alongside Frame QR, DENSO WAVE released a free "Q" reader app for iOS and Android plus a "Q platform" cloud service in October 2014; the Q reader could decode Frame QR, SQRC and standard QR Code [5][5].
## Technical specification
Frame QR is built on the standard QR Code symbology but reserves a contiguous central "canvas area" for imagery rather than encoding data there [1][1] [5][5]. DENSO WAVE states the canvas "does not interfere with code reading," and that the canvas shape can be selected from a template or specified as any custom shape, with the centre location, size and angle changed as needed [1][1]. The product retains the base QR Code's capabilities, including error correction, Kanji/Kana representation, and omnidirectional (360°) reading [2][2].
Wikipedia characterises Frame QR as arranging the code around a central empty area for imagery or branding, and notes that — unlike ordinary "designer" QR codes that merely overlay artwork and rely on error correction to recover the covered modules — Frame QR "is a completely separate variant," so "some readers cannot decode it" [6][6]. DENSO WAVE does not publish the exact fraction of the symbol the canvas may occupy, the underlying QR versions/models used, or the data-capacity penalty of reserving the canvas; generation is handled through DENSO WAVE's "Q platform" server tooling [1][1] [2][2].
## Use cases
Frame QR is positioned chiefly as a marketing and brand-design code [1][1] [2][2] [7][7]:
- **Branding and print marketing** — business cards, catalogs, advertisements, posters and other print collateral, where a photo or logo sits inside the code to make it memorable and increase the visibility of a corporate logo or character "more vividly than the current design QR Codes" [1][1] [7][7].
- **Promotional business cards** — DENSO WAVE highlights "Impressive business cards … using FrameQR® with a photo" [1][1].
- **Authenticity verification** — combining Frame QR with holograms for visual plus data-based validation, and with traceability schemes [1][1] [7][7].
- **Discount/label and document workflows** — paired with image-recognition technologies such as OCR and mark-sheet systems [1][1] [5][5].
- **Website redirection from printed materials** and general entertainment/AR-linked campaigns via the Q app [2][2] [5][5].
## Implementations
Frame QR is generated through DENSO WAVE's proprietary **"Q platform" server** and scanned with the dedicated **"Q" reader** application, both supplied by DENSO WAVE and its regional units [2][2] [5][5] [7][7]. Because Frame QR is a distinct variant rather than a plain QR Code with an overlaid image, standard readers may fail to decode it [6][6]. **No open-source Frame QR encoder is known**: general-purpose libraries (e.g. nayuki/QR-Code-generator, libqrencode, ZXing) implement the ISO/IEC 18004 base symbology only. Open-source "QR with logo" generators do exist, but they implement the different, error-correction-based artwork-overlay approach rather than DENSO WAVE's reserved-canvas Frame QR [6][6].
## Comparison
**Frame QR vs. logo-overlay QR.** The common "QR code with a logo" is an ordinary ISO/IEC 18004 symbol with an image pasted over the centre; it works only because the QR error-correction level can reconstruct the modules hidden by the logo, which limits how much area the logo may cover before the code fails. Frame QR instead *designs in* a dedicated canvas area whose shape, size, position and angle are flexible, and which "does not interfere with code reading" by construction [1][1]. The trade-off is compatibility: a logo-overlay code is still a standard QR Code any reader can decode, whereas Frame QR is a separate variant that "some readers cannot decode" [6][6].
**Frame QR vs. SQRC.** Both are DENSO WAVE proprietary derivatives readable by the "Q" app, but they solve different problems: SQRC hides a private data partition behind a cryptographic key while looking like a normal QR, whereas Frame QR sacrifices part of the symbol's interior for visible design while keeping its data public [5][5] [1][1].
## Fun facts
- Frame QR was unveiled on the QR Code's 20th anniversary (announced September 15, 2014) and explicitly framed by DENSO WAVE as a milestone "evolution" of the original 1994 code [5][5] [3][3].
- DENSO WAVE markets a "face LogoQ®" generation function in the Q app, letting users build personalized/photo-bearing codes in the Frame QR family [5][5].
## Status
Frame QR is a **proprietary, actively marketed** product of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED; "FrameQR" is a registered trademark and the code is produced and read through DENSO WAVE's licensed Q platform / Q reader tooling [1][1] [2][2] [5][5]. Like other DENSO WAVE derivatives, Frame QR is **not** itself an ISO/IEC standard — it extends the standardized QR Code (ISO/IEC 18004) — and as a separate variant it is not guaranteed to be decodable by arbitrary third-party readers [6][6] [4][4].
## Sources
[1] [Frame QR | QRcode.com](https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/frameqr.html) — DENSO WAVE, 2026.
[2] [Frame QR® | QR Code Solutions | System Solution](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/system/qr/product/frame.html) — DENSO WAVE, 2026.
[3] [History of QR Code](https://www.qrcode.com/en/history/) — DENSO WAVE, 2026.
[4] [QR Code Standardization](https://www.qrcode.com/en/about/standards.html) — DENSO WAVE, 2026.
[5] [DENSO WAVE Announces new QR Code with canvas area in the center](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/info/detail__272.html) — DENSO WAVE, 2014.
[6] [QR code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code) — Wikipedia, 2026.
[7] [Frame QR Code | QR Code Picture Frame](https://www.denso-adc.com/frame-qr/) — DENSO ADC, 2026.
[8] [What is a FrameQR?](https://www.denso-wave.com/en/system/qr/fundamental/qrcode/frameqr/index.html) — DENSO WAVE, 2026.
[1]: https://www.qrcode.com/en/codes/frameqr.html
[2]: https://www.denso-wave.com/en/system/qr/product/frame.html
[3]: https://www.qrcode.com/en/history/
[4]: https://www.qrcode.com/en/about/standards.html
[5]: https://www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/info/detail__272.html
[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
[7]: https://www.denso-adc.com/frame-qr/
[8]: https://www.denso-wave.com/en/system/qr/fundamental/qrcode/frameqr/index.html
## Deployments
_No country reports mention this standard by name._
## Regions / aggregations not mapped to a single country
- Universal