Putting QR codes on print so they actually scan

The four things that break them

All are fixed at design time.

• Too small. Below 20 mm square, many phone cameras struggle, particularly in poor light.
• No quiet zone. A code needs clear space around it equal to four of its own modules.
• Insufficient contrast. Dark on light works; light on dark and low-contrast colour pairs often do not.
• Gloss lamination reflecting light straight back into the camera.

Two practical rules

Print a test at final size and scan it with an ordinary phone, indoors, under normal lighting — not on screen at 400% zoom.

Point the code at something you can change later. A short redirect you control means the destination can move without reprinting.

The specifications this applies to

For reference, here is how it works out on the products this comes up on most often.

• Standard Visiting Cards — 89 × 51 mm finished, 3 mm bleed, 300 DPI minimum, from ₹2 per unit with a minimum of 100.
• Flyers — 148 × 210 mm finished, 3 mm bleed, 300 DPI minimum, from ₹2.5 per unit with a minimum of 250.

Ordering

Every file is checked automatically before printing, so a mistake in any of this is caught while it can still be corrected rather than after a run is on paper.

Standard delivery is free to every PIN code in India — two working days to a metro, up to twelve to the islands — and prices include GST, so the figure on the product page is the figure charged. Add a GSTIN at checkout and the invoice carries it for input credit.

Before you send it

Print the design at actual size on an ordinary office printer and look at it on paper rather than on screen. Almost every problem — type too small, contrast too low, something too close to the edge — becomes obvious immediately at real size and is invisible at 200% zoom on a monitor.

Then read it out loud. It is the most reliable way to catch a missing word, and a missing word on 500 printed cards is not a small correction.