The Ultimate Guide to QR Code Printing and Publishing

With QR codes, you can digitize physical experiences, like traditional advertisements, brick-and-mortar stores, restaurants, hotels, and more. According to QR Code Marketing, 70% of businesses report a positive return on investment (ROI) on their QR code printing efforts.

However, if you’re printing QR codes for the first time, there are some steps and guidelines you must follow.

Here is an ultimate guide to QR code printing and publishing to help you get started.

Choosing the right type of QR code?
Creating a QR code
How to design a QR code?
How to print a QR code?
Choosing the suitable printing material
QR code printing guidelines to follow
QR code printing and publishing mistakes to avoid
Summing it up

Choosing the right type of QR code?

Before creating a QR code, you need to determine which type of QR code you need. This will depend on your use case, how you’ll use QR codes, and what you want the flow to be.

Let’s say you want a user to visit your website. In that case, a simple URL QR code will do the job.

On the other hand, suppose you want to share a PDF document with your users. In that case, using a PDF QR code will be more practical.

Let’s look at some commonly-used QR code types and their application:

URL QR code: Share URLs with your audience
Digital Business Card: Bring users to your digital business card to share contact details
PDF QR code: Distribute PDF files with a single scan
Social Media QR code: Bring users to your social media profiles
Business Page QR code: Share all your business information in one place
Google Maps QR code: Share your Google Maps location with a single scan
App Download QR code: Share Play Store and App Store download links
Menu QR code: Share a digital menu with your restaurant guests
Landing Page QR code: Create a custom landing page with its QR code
Image Gallery QR code: Share multiple images in one place with a single QR code

Note: QRCodeChimp offers 35+ QR code solutions for various business use cases. Visit our solutions page to explore all the solutions.

Creating a QR code

Once you decide on the type of QR code you need, the next step is to create a QR code.

Let’s say you want to bring users from your newspaper ad to your website. The URL QR code solution will best fit this use case.

Follow these steps to create a URL QR code:

Step 1

Visit qrcodechimp.com. Head to the Solutions tab and click on “URL.”

Step 2

Go to the “Basic Information” section and enter the URL where you want to send your users.

Step 3

Go to the “Design, Color, and Decorate QR code” section to design your QR code.

Note: You’ll learn more about QR code design in the next section.

Step 4

Click on “Save QR code,” give it a name, select a folder (optional), and click on “Save.”

The QR code will be saved on your dashboard.

How to design a QR code?

The design of a QR code plays an instrumental role in its scannability. A complex, bulky design might affect the QR code’s scannability. On the other hand, a QR code with a simple design will be easier to scan.

However, a well-designed QR code will likely get more scans by grabbing people’s attention.

So, it’s vital to strike the perfect balance between design and scannability to get the best results.

Here’s how to design your QR code to perfection.

Use unique shapes

QR codes no longer need to be square-shaped. You can create QR codes of various unique shapes, like the circle, heart, diamond, and so on.

Now, how to choose the right shape for your QR code?

The best approach is to go with your brand. For instance, if you own a car showroom, create a car-shaped QR code to align it with your brand and engage your consumers.

If you don’t want to go for complex shapes, you can play it safe with the circle, oval, hexagon, octagon, and star shapes.

Use appealing colors

Colors can make your QR codes attractive and grab people’s attention. Go beyond the commonplace black-and-white QR codes and make your QR codes look stunning with QR codes.

You can choose any color combination as per your choice. However, it’s best to stick to your brand’s colors. For example, if your brand’s logo has orange and yellow colors, use the same in your QR code to align it with your brand.

IMPORTANT: Use contrasting colors

There’s a reason why QR codes have traditionally been black and white. It’s because black and white are contrasting colors.

To scan a QR code, the scanner must detect the eyes on the QR code. When the QR code and background color are contrasting, the scanner can easily detect the eyes and scan the QR code.

But if the colors aren’t contrasting, the scanner may be unable to identify the eyes, causing scannability problems.

Also, avoid using inverted colors, i.e., a lighter QR code and darker background. Even though QR codes with inverted colors may scan, many QR code scanners expect QR codes to have a darker foreground and lighter background.

So, be on the safe side by ditching inverted colors for your QR codes.

Use stickers to increase actionability

Stickers or frames with calls to action (CTAs) can significantly increase your scan rates.

Many top brands have seen their scan rates increase dramatically after including a call to action with their QR codes.

When you add a sticker with CTA to your QR code, you tell the users what they need to do. For instance, if you create an App Download QR code, a “Download App” sticker can significantly increase scans and app downloads.

QR code body and eye design

You can also customize the body and eyes of your QR code. This includes body type, eye frame type, eyeball type, and scaling options.

Play around with these options to give your QR code a unique and appealing look.

Brand logo

Adding your brand’s logo to your QR code is essential, especially if it’s a part of your marketing strategy. A logo makes your QR code instantly recognizable, resulting in higher customer engagement and more scans.