What is the minimum size for a printed QR code?

10 mm by 10 mm is the practical floor on paper, and only for a short payload scanned from about 10 cm. For anything read further away, use one tenth of the reading distance: 30 mm at 30 cm, 100 mm at 1 m, 300 mm at 3 m.

How small can a QR code be on a business card?

15 mm is a safe width on a card, because people hold it 10 to 20 cm from the camera. Keep the payload short — a dynamic link or a vCard with only the fields you need — and leave 2 mm of empty margin around the code.

What resolution or DPI does a printed QR code need?

DPI stops mattering if you print vector. Export PDF or SVG and the code is resolution independent at any size. If you must use PNG, generate it at 300 DPI for the final physical width — a 30 mm code needs about 350 pixels.

How much white space does a QR code need around it?

Four modules on every side, which is roughly 3 to 4 mm on a 30 mm code. Our PDF export already includes a 4 mm quiet zone, so you can place the file directly in the layout.

Does a bigger QR code scan faster?

Up to a point, yes: a larger code focuses faster and tolerates movement, glare and worn print better. Beyond roughly one fifth of the reading distance the gain disappears, and the phone may need to step back to fit the whole code in frame.

How-to

What size should a QR code be for print?

Updated September 20, 20267 min read

Print is unforgiving: once 5,000 flyers leave the press, a code that is two millimetres too small stays too small. The good news is that the size question has a reliable answer, and you can check yours in about a minute before anything goes to the printer.

Start with the 10:1 distance rule

A printed QR code needs roughly one tenth of the distance it will be scanned from. A code read at 30 cm — a menu, a flyer in someone's hand — needs about 30 mm of width. A poster read from three metres away needs 300 mm. The rule holds across phone models because it describes how many camera pixels land on each module of the grid, not the brand of the camera.

Minimum printed width by reading distance (10:1 rule), with the usual media
Reading distance	Minimum width	Safe width	Typical media
10 cm	10 mm	15 mm	Business card, product label, hang tag
30 cm	30 mm	40 mm	Menu, flyer, packaging panel, book page
1 m	100 mm	120 mm	Shop window, shelf talker, A4 poster
3 m	300 mm	350 mm	Wall poster, trade-show panel, vehicle door
10 m	1000 mm	1200 mm	Billboard, building banner, stadium board

Then check how much data you are encoding

The rule above assumes a short payload. Every extra character adds modules to the grid, and more modules in the same physical width means each module gets smaller. A 40-character link at 30 mm is comfortable; the same 30 mm holding a 160-character link with UTM parameters is a gamble.

Our free checker does both calculations at once. Paste the exact payload, enter the printed width you have in the layout and the distance people will scan from.

The Qreator QR code checker with the payload field, printed width and scan distance highlighted — ① the exact payload — length changes the density, so paste the real link, ② the width you have in the layout, in millimetres, ③ the distance people will scan from, in centimetres.

The verdict panel turns those three numbers into one decision. In the capture below, a 120-character tracked link printed at 18 mm and read from 2.5 m needs 250 mm — it would have failed on every single poster.

The verdict panel of the Qreator checker showing a risky rating, a 250 mm minimum width and the fix to apply — ① the verdict for this exact combination, ② the minimum width for your payload and distance, ③ the fix: scale up, or shorten the payload.

Shortening the payload is almost always cheaper than redesigning the layout. A dynamic code encodes a short redirect link of around 30 characters instead of your full tracked URL, so the grid stays coarse no matter how long the real destination is — and you can change that destination after printing.

The same verdict panel of the Qreator checker on a phone screen — The same check on a phone — useful when the printer calls you while you are away from your desk.

Leave the quiet zone empty

A QR code needs a clear margin around it, four modules wide, so the scanner can find where the grid starts. On a 30 mm code that is roughly 3 to 4 mm of empty space on all four sides. Text, a logo, a fold, a die-cut or the edge of a coloured block inside that margin breaks detection even when the code itself is perfect.

Keep the quiet zone the same colour as the code background, not just "light".
Add the margin inside your artwork, not by trusting the printer's bleed.
Keep folds, staples, seams and cut lines at least 5 mm away from the code.
On a dark design, a light code on a dark background works — the contrast matters, not which one is darker.

Use vector, not pixels

A QR code is pure geometry, so there is no reason to print pixels. PNG and JPG have a fixed resolution: scaled up on a large format they soften the module edges, and soft edges are exactly what makes a scanner hesitate. A vector file prints crisp at any size — 20 mm on a label or 2 m on a banner, from the same file.

Which file to send, by job
Format	Vector	Use it for
PDF	Yes	Anything going to a print shop — it carries the exact physical size
SVG	Yes	Designers who will place the code inside Illustrator, Figma or InDesign
PNG	No	Screens, slides, email, social posts
JPG	No	Screens only — never print, the compression blurs the module edges

Export a print-ready PDF at the exact size

In the editor, pick PDF as the download format and then pick the print size — 20, 30, 40 or 50 mm. The file comes out as a vector page at exactly that width, with a 4 mm quiet zone already built in, so the print shop can place it without rescaling anything. SVG and PDF are available on Pro and Business; the free plan exports PNG and JPG.

The Qreator editor download panel with the preflight check, the format buttons and the download button highlighted — ① the preflight check, ② the format — choose PDF for print, ③ the download, which then asks for the print size in millimetres.

Proof it before the print run

Print one page on the real stock, at the real size — not scaled to fit.
Scan it with an old phone, not your newest one.
Scan it from the real distance, in the real light: a dim restaurant, a sunlit window, a night-time street.
Scan it at an angle, roughly 30 degrees off, the way people actually hold a phone.
If it is a dynamic code, confirm the destination opens on mobile data, not only on your office Wi-Fi.

Frequent questions

What is the minimum size for a printed QR code?: 10 mm by 10 mm is the practical floor on paper, and only for a short payload scanned from about 10 cm. For anything read further away, use one tenth of the reading distance: 30 mm at 30 cm, 100 mm at 1 m, 300 mm at 3 m.
How small can a QR code be on a business card?: 15 mm is a safe width on a card, because people hold it 10 to 20 cm from the camera. Keep the payload short — a dynamic link or a vCard with only the fields you need — and leave 2 mm of empty margin around the code.
What resolution or DPI does a printed QR code need?: DPI stops mattering if you print vector. Export PDF or SVG and the code is resolution independent at any size. If you must use PNG, generate it at 300 DPI for the final physical width — a 30 mm code needs about 350 pixels.
How much white space does a QR code need around it?: Four modules on every side, which is roughly 3 to 4 mm on a 30 mm code. Our PDF export already includes a 4 mm quiet zone, so you can place the file directly in the layout.
Does a bigger QR code scan faster?: Up to a point, yes: a larger code focuses faster and tolerates movement, glare and worn print better. Beyond roughly one fifth of the reading distance the gain disappears, and the phone may need to step back to fit the whole code in frame.