DATASTRIP — Originally created by Softstrip Systems to publish software in books and magazines in a machine-readable form, Datastrip is now used for printing information on ID cards and passports. An extremely secure 2D code, it is usually 0.75 inches by 3 inches (so it would fit in the margin of a book). That area can store 2,100 bytes of information, including multiple biometrics, photographs and text. It can be printed by most standard bar code printers, but must be read by special contact readers from Datastrip. The code is a matrix pattern of very small rectangular black and white areas. Markers down the side and across the top contain alignment information. Details about the stored data are in the header. Full data recovery is possible even when as much as 50% of the bar code has been damaged.