Where to put your event QR code, and how to print it

One code, one page

The mistake to avoid is a different code for every purpose: one for the map, one for the reply form, one for the photos, each on its own card, each needing an explanation. Guests scan once if the code is in front of them and the reward is obvious, and they do not scan four times. The solution is one code that opens your event page, where everything lives: the details and the map, the reply form, the photo upload and the gallery, the seating lookup, the guestbook. The same code works on the invitation, at the venue and on the thank-you card, because the page changes as the event moves from upcoming to over, and the code does not.

The rest of this guide is about where that one code earns its place, and how to print it so it works on every phone.

Before the event: invitations and save-the-dates

The invitation is where the code does its most important work, because it is how guests reply. Put it on the card itself, bottom corner or back, with a short printed web address beside it for the guests who prefer to type. On a folded invitation, the inside right page or the back are the usual spots. A separate insert card works too, especially if the invitation is a keepsake you do not want to print a code on.

Save-the-dates carry the code as well, so guests can see the venue and the date on a map months ahead, and e-mailed invitations should carry both the code and a plain link, because a code on a screen is scanned by a second phone and a link is tapped.

At the event

At the venue the code switches job: it stops collecting replies and starts collecting photos and pointing guests to their table. Place it where guests stand still:

• The welcome sign: large, at the entrance, beside the seating lookup, with "find your table and share your photos" as the line.
• One tent card per table: a folded card with the code on both sides, so every guest at the table can see one without turning it.
• The bar and the photo corner: where people wait and where they take pictures.
• The menu or the programme: a small code at the bottom reaches guests who read.
• Screens: at a company event, the code on the slide between talks and on the screens in the foyer. Make it large; a screen is scanned from further away than a card.
• A card at the exit: the last chance, next to the favours or the coats, with "share your photos of tonight".

After the event

The thank-you card closes the loop: the same code now opens the gallery with everyone's photos, and the note says so. A follow-up message with the link brings in the photos guests forgot to send. The same code also opens the guestbook, for the wishes nobody wrote on the night; the guestbook guide has the prompts that make people write. For a company event, the code on the follow-up e-mail leads to the gallery and the slides.

What to write next to the code

A code without a sentence is a puzzle. A code with "QR code" written under it is a puzzle with a label. Write what the guest gets: "Scan to reply by 3 May", "Scan to find your table", "Scan to share your photos with us". A verb and a reward, in the language your guests speak, in a size that is readable from where they stand. Never rely on the code alone.

Print it so every phone reads it

A QR code fails for three reasons: too small, too little contrast, or something in the way. All three are avoidable.

• Size: on a card or an invitation, at least 2 cm on each side; on a sign, at least 10 cm. A rule of thumb is that the code should be a tenth of the distance it is scanned from, so a sign read from a metre away needs a 10 cm code.
• Quiet zone: leave a clear margin around the code of about four modules, roughly 4 mm on a 2 cm code. Text and ornaments inside that margin break the scan.
• Contrast: dark modules on a light background. Never print the code over a photo, a pattern or a gradient, and never invert it to light on dark unless you have tested it on several phones.
• No stretching: scale the code with the proportions locked. A code that is wider than it is tall is unreadable.
• File: export a PNG at 1024 pixels or more for anything up to A4, and an SVG for anything larger. A code pulled from a screenshot is already blurred.
• Paper: matte stock beats glossy, which reflects the light at the venue.
• Test: scan the printed code with three different phones, in the light of the venue, from the distance guests will use. Do it before you print two hundred.

Styling without breaking it

A code in your event's colours or with a small image in the centre looks like part of the design rather than something stuck on. Both are safe within limits: keep the contrast high between the modules and the background, keep the centre image small, and test a scan every time you change something. Rounded modules and a soft colour are fine; a pale yellow code on cream is not. If you keep your event in EventAssets, the support article shows how to style the code and download it at print size, and the article on sharing covers the link that goes with it.

A checklist

• Use one code that opens the event page, for the whole life of the event.
• Put it on the invitation with a printed address beside it.
• At the venue: welcome sign, a card on every table, the bar, the screens.
• Write a verb and a reward next to the code, never "QR code".
• Print it at least 2 cm on cards and 10 cm on signs, with a clear margin and high contrast.
• Export at print size, print on matte paper, and test with three phones before the full run.
• Put the same code on the thank-you card to open the gallery.