Three-tier quick-response code: Applications for encoded text and counterfeit prevention system

This paper introduces a novel approach for encoding information in PDF documents or similar files. The proposed encoding involves a dual-step method: firstly, the information is encoded in base64, and subsequently, it is uploaded in a user-selected color, while the rest of the colors contain dummy information. Merging of the encoded segments results in a single QR code. The Literature Review subsection investigates the usage of similar methods for information encoding, followed by a comparison of the luminance of the generated QR code with theoretical expectations. Finally, diverse use cases are presented. The proposed methodology is presented:•Compare the results obtained from the theorical approximation with those acquired in the merged QR code.•Use cases: encoding text sample to obtain a counterfeit system.•Results, contributions, and future work. This figure represents the functionality of the application and the process expressed in the methodology. It has been divided the app part and the code functions in order to explain step by step all the codification process. [Display omitted]