Preparing QR codes for print

A QR code on a screen and the same code on paper are two different situations. A screen emits light and has perfect contrast; paper does not. Printing also brings ink spread, trimming tolerances and surfaces that reflect light. The rules below decide whether a printed code actually works.

The quiet zone — the most commonly broken rule

The quiet zone is the empty space around the code. It is not decoration — the scanner needs it to work out where the code begins and ends. Without it, the code may not scan at all.

The standard recommends a quiet zone four modules wide, a module being one small square in the pattern. In practice that means clear space roughly as wide as four of the smallest squares on every side. A simple rule: leave a clear margin at least one tenth of the code's own width.

Nothing belongs in that space — no text, logo, frame or image edge. Placing a code tight into the corner of a flyer is a frequent reason it fails.

Resolution and file size

A QR code is line art made of sharp edges. For printing:

• 300 DPI is the usual print standard — 300 dots per inch, roughly 118 dots per centimetre.
• A 600 × 600 px code prints cleanly at 300 DPI up to about 5 × 5 cm. That covers business cards, table cards and flyers.
• For larger formats — posters, shop windows, banners — generate the code at a higher resolution or use a vector file.

If a print shop asks for vector artwork (SVG, EPS, PDF), it means the code can be scaled to any size without losing sharpness. For large-format printing that is the safest route.

Minimum size by type of print

Size follows scanning distance. The rule of thumb is that a code should be about one tenth of the scanning distance:

• Business card (scanned from 20 cm) — at least 15 × 15 mm, ideally 20 × 20 mm.
• Flyer or menu (30 cm) — at least 20 × 20 mm.
• A4 poster on a wall (1 m) — at least 10 × 10 cm.
• Shop window or billboard (3 m and up) — at least 30 × 30 cm, preferably more.

When in doubt, go bigger. Nobody has ever been inconvenienced by a code that was too large; a code that is too small simply does not work.

Material and surface

The surface affects readability more than most people expect:

• Matte paper is the most reliable — light does not reflect off it.
• Glossy paper and lamination can create glare that hides part of the code. If you cannot avoid them, make the code slightly larger.
• Fabric and uneven surfaces distort the pattern. A code on a T-shirt or a curved sticker needs to be considerably bigger.
• Dark backgrounds need a white field underneath — print the code on a white rectangle rather than straight onto colour.

What not to do

• Do not enlarge a small image — scaling up a PNG produces blurred edges. Generate the code again at a higher resolution.
• Do not edit the code in a graphics program — no rounded corners, no restyled dots, no cropped margins.
• Do not drop a logo in the middle unless you are sure. Some codes tolerate it thanks to built-in error correction, but it is a risk that needs thorough testing.
• Do not invert the colours — many scanners will not recognise a light code on a dark background.

Checklist before sending to print

• The code has clear white space around it, at least one tenth of its width.
• The size matches the distance it will be scanned from.
• The code is black on white, or at least strongly contrasting.
• The resolution is sufficient for the final size at 300 DPI.
• There is at least 5 mm between the code and the edge of the printed piece.
• The code has been tested from a printed proof, not from a screen.

You can create the code in the generator — the downloaded PNG is 600 × 600 px. To double-check a printed proof, photograph it and open the picture in the QR code reader.