How to test your QR code before printing

QR codes & printsAll plans

A QR code that fails at the reception fails silently: guests try once, shrug, and put the phone away. Two minutes of testing before you print protects every sign and card you make. The download popup says it plainly: test the code before downloading to make sure your colors scan.

Plan: All plans · Where: Overview → Your one code → Download

Before you start

  • Use the phone you have, then borrow one more if you can: an iPhone and an Android between them catch almost everything.
  • If you customized colors, this test is not optional. Custom colors are the number one cause of dead codes.

Steps

  1. Open the download popup. On your event’s Overview, click Download in the Your one code card. Pick the flavor you plan to print first: test the code you’ll actually use.

  2. Scan it from the screen. Open your phone’s camera and point it at the preview. The link banner should appear within a second or two. This validates the colors and the code itself.

  3. Tap through and look at what loads. Confirm it opens the page you expect: your full page, or the focused upload/RSVP/playlist page. A working scan to the wrong destination is still a failed sign.

  4. Do one real upload. While you’re there, upload a test photo like a guest would. Your first photo also earns a 15% discount. The “See what your guests will see” card on your events home walks you through the same test.

  5. Print one copy at final size. Screen success doesn’t guarantee paper success. Print a single test on the paper you’ll really use.

  6. Scan the print from a realistic distance. Arm’s length for cards on a table, a few steps for a welcome sign. Try it in dimmer light too: receptions are not showrooms.

What you should see

Every scan opens the right page in under a couple of seconds, from screen and from paper, on more than one phone. Now print the batch with confidence.

If something goes wrong

  • Nothing happens when scanning: almost always contrast or size. Make the code darker than its background (dark-on-light, never light-on-dark) and at least about 1 inch (2.5 cm) square in print. Fix colors in the color customizer and re-test.
  • It scans on screen but not on paper: glare or a soft print. Glossy paper reflects light straight into the camera; tilt the sign, or reprint on matte. Blurry prints mean the image was scaled up. Re-download and place at final size.
  • It scans up close but not from standing distance: the code is too small for the placement. Table signs read from standing height want the code itself at 2 inches or larger.