Check your code before you print it
Five free tools for anyone about to print a code, or unsure about one in front of them.
- No account
- Nothing uploaded to us
- Free for good
How wide should the printed code be?
Choose where the customer scans it from and what the code holds.
cm
The width here comes from the distance: about a tenth of it, and more if the code has more squares. This code has 25 squares across, so one square is about 0.91 mm.
The distance is short, so the minimum size applies: do not print a code under 2 cm. This code has 25 squares across, so one square is about 0.91 mm.
Holding a short link (an editable code), 3 cm would do: it has fewer, larger squares.
Where the number comes fromCheck your code's image as it will be printed
We read it in your browser and measure what matters to the printer.
We could not read a code in this picture. If it is clear and shows the whole code, many phones will probably not read it either: do not print it as it is.
The reader could not be loaded. Reload the page and try again.
- Whether it scans, and what it opens
- The contrast between the squares and the background
- The margin around it and the picture's sharpness
- The smallest size to print it at
Reading the picture…
It scans, and this is what it opens
A web link A Wi-Fi network's details A contact card A number, a message or a place on the map Text
The site it opens:
- This link is not encrypted (http). Do not type a password or card details there.
- The site's name uses non-Latin letters and may imitate a well-known name. Check it before you open it.
- The link has a username before the site's name, a trick to hide where it leads. The real site is the one written above.
- The link leads to a numeric address, not to a site's name. Well-known sites do not do that.
What we measured on the picture
- The contrast is enough: :1 between the squares and the background; the limit we go by is 4:1. The contrast is weak: :1; the limit we go by is 4:1. Make the squares darker or the background lighter. The code is light on a dark background. Many phones do not read that: swap the two colours.
- The margin is enough: 4 empty squares or more around the code. The margin is narrow: empty squares around it, where the standard asks for 4. Most phones still read it, but put nothing right against it. There is not enough margin around the code in the picture. Leave a space in its background's colour around it, 4 squares wide.
- The picture is sharp enough: pixels for each square. The picture is small: only pixels for each square, so its edges come out ragged when enlarged. Print from an SVG or a PDF file, or download a larger PNG.
- Reading it scaled down, as a camera sees it from a distance… It still reads when scaled down to three pixels per square, which is close to what a camera captures from a distance. It was read at full size but not when scaled down: the shape of the squares, the logo or the colours weaken it. Simplify the design or print it larger.
This code has squares across, and its error correction level is .
Print it at least cm wide, its margin included.
What does reprinting cost you each time your link changes?
With an editable code you print once.
Print one page, and scan every size
Your own code at several sizes on a sheet of A4, to choose the size before you print the whole run.
- Make your code on the home page, with its final content and design, or open its page in your account.
- Download “Test sheet (PDF)” under the download buttons, and print it on A4 at actual size (100%), not “fit to page”.
- Scan each size from where the customer will stand, with more than one phone. Choose the smallest one that scanned on the first try, then go one size up to be safe.
Read a code, and see the link before you open it
The camera could not be started. Allow this site to use it in the browser's settings, or choose a picture of the code.
No code was found in this picture. Try a clearer one that shows the whole code.
The reader could not be loaded. Reload the page and try again.
- The site's name first. Is it what you would expect for this place? One letter added or missing is enough to imitate a name.
- A sticker over a sticker? Codes in car parks and on menus are imitated to lead you to a page that asks for your card.
- You decide. We show what the code holds, and open nothing until you choose to.
What the code holds
A web link A Wi-Fi network's details A contact card A number, a message or a place on the map Text
The site it opens:
- This link is not encrypted (http). Do not type a password or card details there.
- The site's name uses non-Latin letters and may imitate a well-known name. Check it before you open it.
- The link has a username before the site's name, a trick to hide where it leads. The real site is the one written above.
- The link leads to a numeric address, not to a site's name. Well-known sites do not do that.
Start from where you are
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Thinking of a large print run
How much you save
Work out what you pay to reprint each time your link changes.
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Designing a menu or a sticker
The right size
The smallest width that scans from where the customer will stand.
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The artwork is ready for the printer
Pre-print check
Whether it scans, what it opens, its contrast and margin.
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Before the whole run
Test sheet
Your code at every size on one page.
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A code in front of you that you doubt
Scanner
See the whole link before you open it.
A mistake in a code shows once the whole run is delivered
- OnceYou print the code on the menu, the package or the sign.
- Thousands of timesIt is scanned after that, with different phones, light and distances.
- Two minutesHere is all it takes to avoid a whole reprint.
If it was printed too small, with weak contrast, or against the edge of the artwork, you find out when the whole run is delivered. Downloading and printing says what to send the printer.
No code yet?
Make it free, then come back here and check it before printing.