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I wanted to share a side project I built recently: gen.printercow.com. It's a simple free web service that generates QR codes, Code39, and Data Matrix barcodes just by visiting a URL.
Example 1: https://gen.printercow.com/code39/svg/HELLO-WORLD Example 2: https://gen.printercow.com/qr/svg/HELLO-WORLD
This started as an exercise to deepen my understanding of Rust (using the Salvo framework). It also fills a small gap I needed for my main project, Printercow.com (which lets you print things like AI chats on thermal printers). I needed a quick, reliable way to embed barcodes dynamically without adding heavy dependencies client-side.
Performance & Hosting: It seems quite fast! It's currently hosted on a small server in Frankfurt, Germany. From within Europe, I'm seeing response times typically around 25-30ms. Obviously, latency will be higher from other regions.
Privacy: No content you encode, IP addresses, or other PII are logged. The only thing tracked is an anonymous, in-memory counter for each barcode type generated (to see what's popular).
I'd love to get your feedback, hear about any bugs you find, or discuss potential features (other barcode types?). If you find it useful but experience high latency, let me know which region you'd like to see a server added next (e.g., US-East, APAC?).
Thanks for checking it out!
