QR code on a poster: size, placement and the line beside it
· 7 min read
A community group is designing the poster for its autumn concert. It will go up in the bakery, at the town hall and in the bookshop. A QR code should lead to the programme and the ticket page. The questions remain: where to put it, how big, and what to write beside it.
This guide helps you design the poster around the code: its placement, its readability, the line that makes people want to scan, and a simple trick to see which display location works best. The advice applies whatever tool you use.
First: what is the code on your poster for?
A poster is read in a few seconds, often in passing. It must give the essentials without a phone: what, when, where. The QR code takes people further: the full programme, ticket sales, a map, a registration form.
So keep the date, the venue and the name of the event written out clearly. Someone without a smartphone, or in a hurry, should still leave with the main information.
Plan a single destination per code as well. If you have several things to offer, bring them together on one page with several links rather than printing several codes side by side: passers-by would not know which one to scan.
Where to put the QR code on the poster
Next to the information it adds to
Place the code beside what it follows on from: under the date and venue if it leads to tickets, near the title if it leads to the programme. A code left alone in a corner, with no visible link to the rest, is easily overlooked.
Away from drawing pins and folds
Posters get pinned, taped and folded for posting. Keep the code away from the edges and corners, and from the fold if the poster travels folded.
At phone height
On a poster hung low, a code at the very bottom makes people bend down; on a poster hung high, a code at the very top is out of reach. When you know the location, adjust where the code sits.
A size that suits the real distance
There is no size that works for every poster. It depends on the distance people look from, the lighting and the length of the address in the code: the longer the address, the more small squares the code contains, and the larger it needs to be.
A poster read up close on a counter does not have the same needs as one seen through a shop window. The only reliable rule: test at the real distance, with a proof printed at final size.
Contrast and readability
A phone looks for dark squares on a light background. On a colourful poster, it is tempting to blend the code into the design. Better to resist:
- a dark code on a light background, with no photo or pattern behind it;
- an empty margin around the code, the "quiet zone", which must not be trimmed during layout.
Keep your colours for the frame around the code and for the line beside it. Logo, glossy finish, curved surface: every point to check before signing off the proof is in our guide to QR code printing mistakes.
The line that makes people want to scan
A code on its own does not say what it contains, and nobody scans at random. Write right beside it, in readable type, what people will find:
- "Scan to see the programme"
- "Book your seat here"
- "The map, in one scan"
A short, precise line is better than a vague "Scan me". If your audience speaks several languages, add a short translation.
What people find when they scan
The poster makes a promise; the page has to keep it. If the line says "Book your seat here", the code leads straight to the booking page, not to your website's home page.
Also check that the page opens quickly and reads well on a phone. Posters are often scanned outdoors or in a corridor, sometimes with a weak signal: avoid heavy files and pages that make people zoom in.
One code per display location
Back to the community group. Its posters are up in three places. Which one actually brings people in? With the same code everywhere, there is no way to tell.
The trick: print a different code for each display location, all leading to the same page. The design stays identical; only the code changes. You then compare the number of scans for each code.
Two ways to do it:
- with a dynamic QR code tool that counts scans: one code per location, and you read the number of scans for each;
- with your website statistics, if you have them: each code leads to the same page, with a small, different label added to the web address (the name of the location, for example) that your statistics can tell apart.
Treat the figures with care: a scan is not a ticket sold, and the same person may scan twice. But the gap between two locations shows you where to put a poster up again next time. And label each pile of posters with the location it is meant for: two posters that look identical are easily swapped.
Testing before you print the whole run
A few minutes of testing can save you a run of posters to reprint.
☐ The proof is printed at final size, on paper close to the final material.
☐ The code opens first time with the camera of an iPhone and of an Android phone.
☐ It reads at the real distance, in lighting close to that of the display location.
☐ Each code leads to the right page, and each poster carries the code for its location.
After the posters go up: when the information changes
The concert moves to another hall, the ticket page changes address, the evening sells out. The posters are already up.
If the code leads to a page whose content you can change, or if it is a dynamic QR code whose destination you change, you update the information without touching the posters. After the event, the same code can lead to a thank-you message or to the next date. More examples in our article on how to edit a QR code after printing.
Mind what is printed, though: if the date written on the poster changes, you will still need a sticker over it or a reprint.
To find out where you are allowed to put up posters, ask your local council or the owner of the premises.
Creating your poster QR codes with Scanoa
Scanoa creates dynamic QR codes: the printed code stays the same, and you change its destination when the information changes.
You see how many times your code is scanned, at what times, on which type of device and roughly which city it comes from. Statistics without tracking, hosted in Europe: the IP address is never stored and no cookie is set when scanning.
For a poster campaign, put the codes in a folder and give each one a tag for its location, so you can easily find the campaign's codes and compare how many times each is scanned.
Frequently asked questions
Where should the QR code go on a poster?
Next to the information it adds to, away from the edges and drawing pins, at a height people can easily reach with a phone once the poster is up.
What size should a QR code on a poster be?
There is no single size: print a proof at final size and test it at the real distance, with several phones.
What should I write beside the QR code?
A short line saying what people will find when they scan, such as "Scan to see the programme", rather than a bare "Scan me".
How can I tell which poster works best?
Print a different code for each display location, all leading to the same page, then compare the number of scans for each code.
How many codes can I create for free with Scanoa?
Static QR codes are free and unlimited, and never expire, even without a subscription. To change the destination and count scans: Free plan with 3 dynamic QR codes. No card needed. On the Free plan, beyond 1,000 scans in a month, your dynamic QR codes are paused until the 1st of the next month: people who scan them see a page saying they are temporarily unavailable. A paid plan reactivates them right away, with unlimited scans.
A good poster states the essentials clearly, puts a readable code where people can scan it, and says in one line what they will find.
Create one QR code per display location and compare their number of scans. Free plan with 3 dynamic QR codes. No card needed. Up to 1,000 scans a month.