How to print a QR code that always scans

A QR code that doesn’t scan is worse than no code at all: people try once, give up, and assume the problem is them. Almost every failure comes down to three things you can check before printing: size, contrast and space.

Size it by scanning distance

A good rule: the code should be at least one tenth of the distance it’s scanned from. Close up, that means at least 2 × 2 cm (about 0.8 in) on a business card.

• Business card, scanned at 20 cm: 2 cm or more.
• Flyer or table stand, at 50 cm: 5 cm.
• Poster across a room, at 3 m: 30 cm.
• Slide on a screen: big enough to fill a fifth of the slide height.

Keep the contrast high

Scanners read dark modules on a light background most reliably. Pale colours, gradients across the code and photos behind it are the usual culprits. Keep the code itself dark on white and put colour in the frame around it.

Leave a quiet zone

A QR code needs an empty margin around it, about four modules wide, so the scanner can find its edges. Text, logos or a card border pressed right against the code make it fail.

Shorter links make simpler codes

The longer the link, the denser the code, and dense codes need to be printed larger. A short address like a profile link gives you a cleaner code that scans from further away.

The free QR code generator keeps the code black on white with a full quiet zone in every style, and downloads a 2048 px PNG or an SVG for print.

Test before you print a thousand

• Print one copy at the final size.
• Scan it with two different phones, in normal light.
• Scan it from the real distance, not from 10 cm.
• Check the link opens what you expect on mobile data.

Print a code that can change

A code to a fixed link can only ever open that link. A code to your own page lets you change what’s behind it, so the printed card never goes out of date.

Every Setuvara Mode has its own code that opens your live page. See QR and Tap.