Cauzin Softstrip was the first commercial 2D barcode format. Introduced in 1985, it could store up to 1000 bytes per square inch, which was 20 to 100 times more than the bar codes of the day. It was designed to allow magazines to distribute computer programs by simply printing a pattern on a page. Several computer magazines printed Softstrip data that encoded program source listings, or even executable programs. It is now known as Datastrip code.
