Guides for codes that actually scan.
Short, honest notes based on the encoders this site uses and on published symbology standards. Where something depends on your printer or your scanner, we say so instead of guessing.
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Guides
QR code not scanning? Start here.
Separate a decoding issue from a destination problem, then check colours, logos, size and your printed proof.
How to print a QR code that scans
Sizing, quiet zones, contrast, which export to send a printer, and how to test a proof before a batch.
Static vs dynamic QR codes
What is actually inside each one, what expires and what does not, and when a hosted page is worth the extra moving part.
Printing labels from a CSV file
A worked example: column mapping, leading zeros, a copies column, and what happens when a row has an error.
Fixing label print alignment
Telling a uniform offset from progressive drift, and which control — margin or pitch — actually fixes it.
Sequential asset tag numbering
A worked ASSET-0001 sequence, QR vs Code 128 for tags, and why an internal ID isn't a retail GTIN.
Set one up for a particular job
Quiet zones: the margin that does the work
A scanner finds a symbol by its clear margin. An ordinary QR code needs four empty modules on every side; Micro QR needs two; 1D barcodes need a wide clear space either side of the bars, listed per format in the barcode format table. Our exports paint that margin in your chosen background colour and never place a logo, caption or frame inside it. To turn modules into millimetres, use the QR code size calculator.
Error correction, in one paragraph
QR codes carry redundant codewords so a damaged or partly covered symbol still decodes. The published restoration figures — roughly 7% at level L, 15% at M, 25% at Q and 30% at H — describe the proportion of codewords that can be restored, not a percentage of the printed area you may safely cover with a logo. Higher levels mean more modules for the same content, so the code gets denser and each module gets smaller at a fixed print size. A centred logo consumes recovery capacity, which is why we raise the level automatically when you add one — and why you should still scan the printed result.
Choosing a symbology
For internal labels, Code 128 handles letters and digits compactly. Retail products use EAN-13 or UPC-A with a number licensed from GS1. Outer cases use ITF-14. Books use ISBN. When space is tight or you need letters in a 2D symbol, Data Matrix is the usual industrial choice; PDF417 appears on identity documents and boarding passes.
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Printing
SVG is the only true vector download here, so it is what a print shop should get — it can be scaled to any size. The PDF puts a high-resolution image of the same artwork on the paper size you choose, which is right for printing that page yourself. If you need PNG, export at a size where every module lands on whole pixels — the print resolution calculator gives you that number, and our PNG export disables smoothing for the same reason. Print a test at final size and scan it with the oldest device that will realistically be used. The printing guide walks through the whole sequence.