The new menus are back from the printer and they look great. Then the first customer holds a phone over the QR code in the corner, waits, moves closer, waits again, and gives up and asks for a paper menu. The code is the size of a fingernail.
Print QR codes at least 2 cm (0.8 in) wide for anything held in the hand, and about one tenth of the scanning distance for posters. A sign people scan from 1 m (3 ft) away should be about 10 cm (4 in) wide.
That one-tenth rule covers most cases. The rest of this guide is about the details that make a correctly sized code still fail.
Recommended sizes
| Use | Scanning distance | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Business card | under 20 cm | 2 to 2.5 cm (0.8 to 1 in) |
| Table menu or sticker | 30 to 50 cm | 3 to 5 cm (1.2 to 2 in) |
| Flyer or letter-size page | 30 to 50 cm | 4 to 6 cm (1.6 to 2.4 in) |
| Window or A-frame sign | 1 to 2 m | 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) |
Go one size up when the link is long, because long links make denser codes with smaller squares.
A cafe puts an A-frame sign on the pavement. People stop about 1.5 m away to read it.
1.5 m ÷ 10 = 15 cm. The link is a long online ordering URL, so the owner goes one step up and prints the code at 18 cm. Passers-by can scan it without stepping closer.
Avoid codes that expire
Many QR sites encode a redirect through their own server instead of your link. These “dynamic” codes stop working when a free trial ends or the service shuts down, and your printed menus go dead overnight.
The K-QR generator encodes your link directly, so the code never expires.
Logos, colors and the quiet zone
- Logos are fine. QR codes carry error correction, so up to about 30% can be covered at level H. Keep the logo near 20% of the width.
- Colors: dark modules on a light background. Light-on-dark codes fail on some phones, and pale yellow or light blue modules are hard to read.
- Quiet zone: keep the white border around the code. Cropping it is the most common reason designer-made codes scan slowly.
White code on a dark brand color, cropped right to the edge, with a logo covering half the middle.
Dark code on a light background, a clear white border all around, and a logo about one fifth of the width.
Tell people what they get
A bare code gives nobody a reason to scan. A line such as “Scan for the menu” or “Scan for 10% off” directly under it noticeably increases scans.
The generator’s label option puts that line inside the image, so it never gets separated from the code in a layout. You can try it now and see the scan test result update as you change the design.
Pre-print checklist
- Scan it with one iPhone and one Android phone.
- Print a test at final size and scan it from the real distance.
- Check that the page it opens reads well on a phone.
- To count visits from print, tag the link with the UTM builder before making the code.
Tip: A single test print on office paper costs nothing. A reprint of 500 menus does. Always do step 2.
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