What size should a QR code be for printing?

The minimum QR code size

For a code that someone scans from a hand's length away, such as on a business card, a leaflet or a label, 2 × 2 cm is a safe minimum. Below that, the individual squares get so small that phone cameras struggle to focus on them, and slight blur in the printing merges them together.

That minimum assumes a short link. A code's pattern grows with its content: a long address, a full contact card or a Wi-Fi password adds squares, and each square gets smaller at the same printed size. If your code looks busy, print it at 2.5 to 3 cm, or shorten what is inside it. A logo in the middle also eats into the pattern, so give a logo code a little more room.

The 10:1 distance rule

For anything scanned from further away, use the 10:1 rule: the code's width should be about one tenth of the distance between the code and the person scanning it. It is a rule of thumb, not a law, and poor light, a steep angle or a dense code all mean going bigger.

• 30 cm away, such as a table or a counter: 3 cm wide.
• 1 metre away, such as a shop window or a noticeboard: 10 cm wide.
• 2 metres away, such as a poster on a wall: 20 cm wide.
• 5 metres away, such as a banner or a stage screen: 50 cm wide.

Recommended QR code sizes by use

• Business cards: 2 to 2.5 cm. Keep the content short, or use a link to an online contact page rather than a full contact card.
• Leaflets and flyers: 3 to 4 cm, so people can scan it from arm's length.
• Menus and table cards: 3 to 5 cm, with a short label such as "Scan for the menu".
• A4 and A3 posters: 8 to 15 cm, depending on where people will stand.
• Window signs and banners: work it out from the distance with the 10:1 rule.
• Packaging and labels: at least 2 cm on a flat area. Avoid curves, folds, seams and the edges of a box.
• Stickers: at least 2 cm, and choose a matt finish to avoid glare.
• Slides and screens: large enough for the back row to scan, often a quarter of the slide's height or more.

Leave a quiet zone around the code

The quiet zone is the clear margin around a QR code. Scanners use it to find where the code starts. The standard is four modules, meaning four of the code's small squares, on every side. On a 2 cm code that is only a few millimetres, but it must be empty: no text, borders, artwork or trim line inside it.

Frames with a label such as "Scan me" are fine, as long as the frame sits outside the quiet zone. When a printer trims the page, keep the code and its margin well inside the safe area.

Use SVG or PDF for print

A vector file, SVG or PDF, stays perfectly sharp at any size, so the same file works on a business card and a banner. Design tools such as Illustrator, InDesign, Affinity and Canva accept SVG, and most printers prefer PDF.

If you have to use a PNG, give it enough pixels. At 300 dots per inch, a 3 cm code needs about 350 pixels across and a 20 cm code about 2,400. Never enlarge a small PNG, because the soft edges that result are a common reason printed codes fail. Where possible, ask the printer to print the code in solid black or a single dark ink, since slight misalignment between inks can soften small squares.

How to size a QR code for print

1. Work out how far away people will be when they scan it.
2. Divide that distance by ten to get the width, and never go below 2 × 2 cm.
3. Keep the content short so the pattern stays simple.
4. Make the code dark on a light background, and keep any logo small.
5. Download SVG or PDF, or a PNG with enough pixels for the printed size.
6. Place it in your layout with the full quiet zone clear, and scale it from a corner so it keeps its square shape.
7. Print a proof at actual size and scan it from the real distance with two different phones.

Why a correctly sized code can still fail

• Pale colours or a light-on-dark inverted code.
• Glare from gloss lamination or shiny packaging.
• A code wrapped around a curved bottle or tube.
• A busy photo or pattern behind a transparent code.
• A logo that covers too much of the pattern.