The advantage QR codes have over OCR for loading hyperlinks is that QR-codes are high-contrast, machine-readable, high-density, square (so they are guaranteed t

The advantage QR codes have over OCR for loading hyperlinks is that QR-codes are high-contrast, machine-readable, high-density, square (so they are guaranteed to fit in a viewfinder) and have error correction built in. OCR, on the other hand, requires that a (probably cheap) mobile phone camera be able to differentiate l from 1, O from 0, : from ;, and so on, no matter what font the designer chooses. Requiring a "sane" font, size, color, and background color for OCR would not advance readability enough, and it would break the design even more than having a QR code. And even that won't solve the problems of squareness, byte density, and error correction. (Though the obvious solution is "type the URL in whatever font you want and put the QR code next to it.") And a major advantage QR codes have over competitors in the field is that they are very recognizable, with the three position squares in the corners and the smaller alignment square in the opposite corner.