Print QR codes that actually scan

Most QR failures happen at the printer, not the generator. The complete path from downloaded code to printed material that scans first time:

1. Export the right file

From the generator: SVG for anything professional print touches (infinitely sharp at any size), 4096px PNG for office printers and online print portals. Never screenshot-and-enlarge — blurred module edges are the number-one print failure.

2. Size it for the scan distance

The rule: width = scanning distance ÷ 10. Business card in hand: 2cm. Table talker: 3cm. A1 poster read from 2m: 20cm. Van read from the pavement: 20cm+. The full table by use-case: QR size guide.

3. Respect the quiet zone and contrast

Keep the white border (4 modules) — designers trimming it kill more codes than any printer does. Dark code on light background, matte finish over gloss where lighting is harsh. (Design rules.)

4. Pick the material

Paper/card: flyers, menus, table talkers — cheap, indoors. Laminated vinyl stickers: outdoors, equipment, vans — years of weather (sticker guide). Rigid signs and boards: shopfronts, sites, events. Engraving/anodised plate: decades — the memorial-grade option.

5. Proof before the run

Print one at final size, scan it with an older phone in average light from the real distance. Thirty seconds that saves a reprint bill.

6. The printing itself

Our partner FatPrint prints QR codes on all of the above — stickers, flyers, menus, signs, banners, van graphics — shipped UK-wide. And every print order includes an editable QR code free, so the printed code's destination can change forever without reprinting.