Six rules that separate codes people actually scan from codes that get printed, ignored, and quietly written off.
Make a QR code freeEvery one of these fixes a failure we have watched happen on a real print run. None of them cost anything to get right before the file goes to press.
The rule of thumb is a 10:1 ratio — a code scanned from 1 metre away needs to be at least 10cm square. Print codes should never be smaller than 2cm, and billboard codes need to be far larger than designers usually expect.
Dark modules on a light background is what scanners are built to read. Inverted codes — light on dark — fail on a meaningful share of older readers. Avoid pale foregrounds, and never place a code over a busy photograph.
The blank margin around the pattern is part of the code, not decoration. Leave a clear border of at least four modules on every side. Text or graphics crowding the edge is one of the most common causes of a code that will not scan.
Placing a logo over a symbol removes data modules. Error correction level H can reconstruct up to about 30% of a damaged symbol, which is what makes logos viable. Keep the logo under roughly a quarter of the code's width.
A bare code earns very few scans. A short call to action — 'Scan for the menu', 'Scan to join our Wi-Fi', 'Scan for 20% off' — reliably multiplies scan rates because it answers the only question the viewer has.
Test the exported file, not the on-screen preview, on at least an iPhone and an Android phone, in the lighting and at the distance your audience will use. Test the printed proof too — ink spread on uncoated stock can close up a dense pattern.
Ten types, twelve designs, PNG, SVG, and PDF download. No account, no expiry, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
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