A QR code on a wedding invitation - size, print and a test before the full run

A QR code on a wedding invitation - how to get it right

A QR code joins a paper invitation to a wedding website. The card stays exactly as you want it, and a guest who scans the code lands where everything else is: the RSVP, directions and the running order. How paper and website divide the work is covered in our piece on a wedding website and paper invitations. This one is about the code itself: how to print it so it works for every guest.

An invitation is printed once. A code that will not scan is something you find out about only when the first aunt rings you. That is why most of what follows has to be settled before the artwork goes to the printer.

Can guests actually scan codes?

In most cases, yes. The iPhone camera has recognised QR codes on its own, with no app, since iOS 11 in 2017 - you just point the phone at the code. On Android phones the camera or the built-in Google Lens reads it, depending on the manufacturer.

Even so, always leave a way in that does not need scanning: the website address in plain text under the code. It helps a grandmother with an older phone, a guest who opens the invitation next to a computer, and anyone whose camera simply refuses to cooperate on the day.

How big the code should be

The rule printing guides agree on: at least 2 x 2 cm, and 2.5 x 2.5 cm to be safe. A smaller code will sometimes scan, but it starts to depend on the phone and the light.

Size also depends on how far away someone will be scanning from. A common ratio is 10 to 1: a code 10 cm wide reads from about a metre. In practice:

• ·An invitation in the hand (fifteen to thirty centimetres from the eyes) - 2-3 cm is enough.
• ·A card on a reception table (the guest is seated, holding the phone over the table) - 4-5 cm is better.
• ·A sign at the entrance to the venue, read from two metres - about 20 cm.

There is one more link few people think about: the longer the address, the denser the code. A code for a short address has fewer, larger squares, so at the same size it reads more easily. It is one of the reasons to choose a short website address.

Empty space around the code

A code needs a margin as wide as four of the smallest squares it is made of - that is what the QR code specification requires. This is not decorative breathing room but part of the code: the blank edge is how the phone knows where the code begins.

The most common mistake on invitations is a code squeezed into a frame of leaves or pushed up against the edge of the card. An ornament can sit close, but it must not cross into the margin.

Colours and paper finish

• ·A dark code on a light background. Black, graphite, dark green or navy on white or cream paper all work well. The reverse - a light code on a dark background - some phones will not read at all.
• ·Strong contrast. A beige code on cream paper looks delicate, but the camera will not see it in the dim light of a reception hall.
• ·No gold foil or gloss on the code itself. Gold, silver and varnish reflect light. Under the venue lamps the glare looks to the camera like a white patch across the code. If the invitation has foil, print the code in ordinary matt ink and keep the gold for the lettering beside it.
• ·The code on flat paper, not on embossing. Raised embossing casts shadows that break up the squares.

A logo or monogram in the middle of the code

A QR code has built-in error correction: even when part of it is covered, the phone can rebuild the rest. There are four levels of this correction, which recover roughly 7, 15, 25 or 30 percent of the code.

A monogram or a heart in the middle of the code covers part of it, so such a code has to be generated at the highest correction level - and even then it needs testing on a printed copy. If you are not sure how the code was made, leave the middle empty. A decoration next to the code risks nothing.

Watch out for free code generators

It is easy to make a QR code yourself online, but some generators produce a so-called dynamic code: it does not lead straight to your website but passes through the generator's server. When the free trial ends or you stop paying the subscription, the redirect switches off - and the code printed on a hundred invitations stops working.

If you make the code yourselves, check that it leads directly to the website address. The code you get from us leads straight to your website.

What to write next to the code

A code with no caption looks like an ornament. A short prompt tells the guest why to scan:

• ·"Scan to let us know you're coming"
• ·"Directions, the running order and your RSVP - behind the code"
• ·"Everything we could not fit on the card"

Underneath, the website address, for example anna-and-jan.naszwielkidzien.pl. If the invitation gives a date by which you need an answer, put it by the code rather than somewhere else on the card. More on the wording itself in our guide to wedding invitation wording.

Test the code before you print the full run

This is the most important point in the whole piece. A computer screen will not tell you whether the code works on paper.

1. Ask the printer for a proof at the final size and on the final paper.
2. Scan it with at least two phones - ideally an iPhone and an Android phone.
3. Check it in dim light and at arm's length, not with your nose to the card.
4. Tap through to what opens. A code can scan and still lead to the wrong address, for example after a typo in the artwork.

Only when all of it works, approve the print.

Where else a code comes in handy

• ·The invitation - the main place, leading to the RSVP and directions.
• ·A save-the-date card - if the website is already live, guests find the accommodation details earlier.
• ·Cards on the reception tables - a code to the gallery where guests upload photos from their phones during the wedding.

When to order the website so the code makes it onto the invitation

The code has to be ready before the invitations go to print, so the website is ordered together with the stationery design - usually about 9 months before the wedding. The site does not need all its content by then. The address will not change, and the running order or the menu can be added later without touching the printed cards.

Remember too that the code works for as long as the website does. With us, hosting and the domain are included for a year, so the code on the invitation keeps working through the preparations, the wedding day and well after it.

The QR code in our package

At Nasz Wielki Dzień you get the QR code as a print-ready file, together with the finished website - print it yourself or hand it to your printer with the invitation design. The same price includes a separate code for the guests' photo gallery, for cards on the tables. Check our pricing or have a look at the themes before you order the stationery.