How to print a QR code for photos

Printing a QR code for photos means making an address readable by a phone in a real room: hall light, paper slightly crooked, a guest who will not come within an inch of it.

A square that looks perfect on screen can fail once it is printed too small, too pale, or on top of a photograph.

The file

Once the event is online, Komos lets you download the QR as PNG (an image) or SVG (a drawing that stays sharp if you scale it up). You can place it on a card you lay out yourself.

The A4 sign already composed, as a PDF, downloads after unlock, at 85 CAD. It carries the event title and the QR. You do not have to use it if your menus are already at the printer: the PNG or the SVG can go on those, as long as the address is the event's.

Do not blow up a blurry screenshot. Start from the downloaded file.

At print time

1. Dark square, light background. Skip a white QR on a dark photo unless the file is meant for that and you have test scanned it.
2. Leave an empty margin around the square, in the light background colour. A pattern that touches the edges gets in the way of reading.
3. On a table card, the QR has to stay scannable by someone seated, without a magnifier. On a sign, larger, for a scan while standing.
4. Matte paper. Gloss and plastic film throw glare under spotlights.
5. Do not stretch the square into a rectangle. Keep the sides equal.
6. Print one copy. Scan it at the distance guests will use. Only then, print the stack.

If the first test fails, fix the size or the contrast. Switching scan apps does not repair a square that is too small.

Where to put them

A sign at eye height, plus cards where people sit. A single print at the entrance disappears in the flow of arrivals. Keep two spares in a bag: stains, wind, a card that leaves with a child.

The sentence beside it fits on one line: "Scan to add your photos. Nothing to install."

What not to do

1. Shrink the QR to "leave room for the design".
2. Print it on a busy background with no scan test.
3. Change the public link after the file has gone to print.
4. Photocopy a photocopy until the squares bleed. Go back to the file.

Paper does the work on the day. The next day, the texted link keeps receiving photos. Both carry the same address.

In summary

Download a sharp QR, print it dark on light with a margin, test the scan in the room, then run the stack. If you change the link, you print again.

What the link should open is in a QR code for photos. Create an event to download the QR, or see pricing: 85 CAD, once. The PDF sign comes with the unlock.