QR code for your menu: size, printing and readability

Minimum size: 3 × 3 cm, recommended 4 × 4 cm

A printed QR code should not be smaller than 3 × 3 cm; on table cards and stands 4 × 4 cm is safer. As a rule of thumb, the scanning distance is about ten times the code size.

Error correction and quiet zone

Table codes get worn, stained with sauce or smudged by fingers. That is why QrConnector generates codes with level Q (25 %) error correction: even if a quarter of the code is unreadable, it still opens. Standard codes have no logo, so a higher level isn’t needed; branded codes with a logo (Pro) use the highest level (H, 30 %) because the logo covers part of the code.

Leave an empty border of at least 4 modules around the code (the quiet zone). If the border is too narrow, some cameras can’t separate the code from the background. Don’t crop it away or cover it with a frame.

Color and contrast

The default is pure black on white – the most reliable option. If you use a colored code in your brand colors (Pro), these rules apply:

• The dots must be darker than the background. Light dots on a dark background (inverted codes) are not read by some phones.
• Contrast between dots and background must be at least 4:1. QrConnector won’t save colors below that and suggests a darker shade.
• Corner shapes are not combined freely: we only offer corner and dot pairs whose readability has been verified.

Our measurement: of 72 combinations with independently chosen corner and dot styles, 25 were unreadable. With verified pairs only, all 288 attempts were read. That is why we keep the design options deliberately limited.

Readability test before printing

QrConnector decodes the generated code at download size (1024 px) with its own reader and checks that the address is correct; an unreadable design can’t be saved. Still, test with your own phone before printing:

• Test with at least two different phones (iPhone and Android).
• Put the printed card on the table and scan it in normal light from a normal distance.
• Use matte paper or matte lamination: on glossy surfaces, lamp reflections can disturb the code.
• Place the code on a flat surface; on curved or wrinkled surfaces reading drops.

Printed codes stay valid

The QR code doesn’t contain the menu itself, only the address of the menu page. When you change dishes, prices or photos you don’t have to reprint the codes. After the first QR download the menu address is locked; if you change it anyway, the old address redirects to the new one, so printed codes keep working.

A short menu address also makes the code sparser and easier to read: at the same print size there are fewer dots, and each dot is larger.