Recently we described Shapeways' new rubber stamp service, where images are transformed by software and 3D printing into a custom rubber stamp.

But now we find a truly innovative use of rubber stamps that brings that pre-20th century technology into the 21st. It all has to do with something called "QR Codes". They are a standard of two-dimensional bar codes, and can be used for a variety of scanned identification purposes, much like the more common bar codes we'd find pasted on the side of grocery store items.

One use that's becoming more popular, especially in Japan, is to encode a website URL into a QR Code. Then by scanning the QR Code, typically done with a mobile phone equipped with a camera and some software, the URL is decoded, a web browser is launched, and presto - you're at the website!
 

 

Here's a sample QR Code, which happens to be this website, Fabbaloo.  

Now this is where Shapeways comes in. By using a QR Code generator such as this one, you can quickly prepare a custom image of your website's URL. Upload the image to Shapeways and select their Stampmaker service and you'll get a rubber stamp in the post shortly thereafter. You can then imprint your website onto physical objects as long as you have ink. Oh, be sure to reverse the polarity of your QR Code image, because stamps are inverse, remember?

Via YouTube