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Generate QR Code

Guides to QR Codes That Actually Work

The details that decide whether a QR code does its job are the ones nobody writes down: what it can hold, how big it has to be for the distance it's read from, and where a different symbol would serve you better. These guides answer one of those questions each.

Basics

How to Scan a QR Code With an Android Phone, on Any Brand

A QR code with round dot modules inside a black rounded frame reading "SCAN ME" at the top and bottom, against a dark grey background, with the green Android robot head overlapping its lower right corner.

Basics

How to Scan a QR Code on an iPhone, From the Camera or From a Photo

A circular lime QR code with round dot modules inside a black ring with a dashed border, against a magenta background, with a white circle holding the black Apple logo overlapping its lower right edge.

Basics

Do QR Codes Expire? The Pattern Never Does

A tilted sticker on a blue background: a lime QR code with round modules inside a thick black frame that reads "SCAN ME" along the top, with a white pill label across the lower edge showing a calendar icon and the word "Expire?".

Basics

Static or Dynamic? Decide It Before Anything Is Printed

Two white pill labels tilted on a green background, the upper one reading "Static" and the lower one reading "Dynamic", with a dark circle between them carrying the word "VS" in white.

Basics

How to Scan a QR Code With a Phone, a Screenshot, or a Second Device

A hand holding a phone above a green tabletop against a yellow wall, angled towards a white card printed with a round black QR code lying on the table.

Print

Nine Things to Check Before a QR Code Goes to Print

A white card holding a black QR code with round modules, tilted beside a white tile showing a coral checklist icon, both on a coral background, with a yellow pill label across the lower edge reading "9 Things".

Basics

QR Code Capacity: How Much Data Fits, by Symbol Version and Encoding Mode

A triangular yellow QR code built from small dots, with three ring-shaped finder patterns inside it, on a green background beside three white rounded labels reading "4,296 characters", "7,089 digits" and "2,953 bytes".

Basics

QR Code Finder Patterns: Why There Are Squares in the Corners of Every QR Code

A QR code with round dot modules on a white rounded sticker against a blue background, its three finder patterns drawn as green rings in the top-left, top-right and bottom-left corners while the fourth corner holds only data modules, above a cyan rounded label reading "Squares in the Corners".

Troubleshooting

Why a QR Code Is Not Scanning, and How to Tell Which Fault You Have

A black-and-white QR code on a white rounded panel against a dark grey background, framed by four coral scanner brackets, with a coral pill below it holding a black cross icon and the words "Not Scanning?".

Basics

QR Code Quiet Zone: The Empty Margin That Decides Whether a Code Is Found

A round black-and-white QR code inside a dashed cut-line ring on a magenta background, with a lime circle holding a printer icon overlapping its lower right edge.

Print

Matte or Gloss: How the Finish Decides Whether a Printed QR Code Scans

A lime-yellow QR code with round modules on a coral background, its upper half washed out by a diagonal band of glare while the lower half stays sharp black, above a white pill label reading "Matte vs Gloss".

Basics

SVG vs PNG vs PDF vs EPS: Which QR Code File Goes Where

Four white circles on a green background, each holding a black file icon labelled SVG, PNG, EPS and PDF.

Print

QR Code Minimum Size for Print: How Small a Code Can Go Before It Stops Scanning

A round black-and-white QR code inside a dashed cut-line ring on a magenta background, with a lime circle holding a printer icon overlapping its lower right edge.

Design

How to Copy a QR Code Into Figma as Editable Vectors

A white pill button reading "Copy to Figma" with a copy icon beside it, under a cursor arrow, on a magenta background.

Basics

QR Code Error Correction: How L, M, Q and H Actually Work

The four QR code error correction levels as large letters on rounded tiles - Q, M, L and H - above a rounded label reading "Error Correction".

Print

QR Code Resolution: How Many Pixels and How Much DPI a QR Code Actually Needs

A lime-green QR code inside a black rounded frame marked "SCAN ME", with a white label below it reading "Resolution" beside a thumbs-up.

Basics

QR Code vs Barcode: How They Differ and When to Use Each

A QR code and a striped barcode side by side on two white cards, the barcode carrying the digits 0 123456 789101 2.

Questions? Answered

No. The generator's defaults produce a code that scans, and most people never need to change them. These guides are for the cases where the defaults aren't enough - a logo in the middle, a billboard, or a code that won't read.

Whichever names the decision in front of you - each guide takes one and answers it end to end, so there's no order to work through. If you're choosing between symbol types at all, start with QR code vs barcode, since that decision sits above the rest.

No. Error correction levels, quiet zones, and module sizes are part of the QR standard, so everything here holds for a code made with any generator. Where a setting is named, KoloQR exposes it in the generator on the homepage.

When something changes that would change the advice. Each guide shows the date it was published, and a revised guide shows when it was last updated, so you can see how current what you're reading is.

Why KoloQR?

  • Create QR codes for websites, menus, Wi-Fi, PDFs, and business cards
  • Customize colors, logos, and unique shapes
  • Download high-quality PNG and SVG files
  • Built for both print and digital
Generate QR Code
A plain black QR code beside the same code restyled as a circle with brand colors