Put the code on signs and invitations
One code per table, about 5 cm across, with clear space around it — and beside it a sentence saying what happens if you scan. Without that sentence, few people do.
On a printed invitation, put the web address underneath in plain text as well. Anyone reading it on a screen cannot scan the code and needs something to tap.
Where the code belongs
On the table, where people are already sitting with a phone in their hand. A single poster by the entrance is walked past by everyone who arrives carrying a coat and a bottle, and it is never seen again. Several small signs beat 1 large one, and the code on them is the same code.
Waiting areas are the second-best spot. A queue at the bar is the most reliable minute of the evening.
- Pick the size for the spot. A6 on tables, A5 at the bar, A4 by the door. The code is identical on all of them.
- Write the line beside it. Say what the guest gets, not what the technology is. "Your photos from today, all in 1 album."
- Add the address on invitations. Printed invitations get read on screens too. A text link covers that case.
| Spot | Size | Why there |
|---|---|---|
| Every table | A6, 105 × 148.5 mm | Where people sit is where they photograph |
| Bar or buffet | A5, 148 × 210 mm | Waiting time is the best time to upload |
| Entrance or gift table | A4, 210 × 297 mm | Everyone passes here exactly once |
| Printed invitation | Code plus text link | It gets read on a screen as well as on paper |
If you print only 1 format, A5 works on a table and still reads from 2 metres.
How big the code has to be
About 5 cm across for something read at arm s length, and larger the further away it hangs. A workable guide: the code should be roughly a tenth of the distance you expect people to scan it from, so a sign read from 2 metres wants around 20 cm.
Bigger costs nothing but paper. Too small costs you the contribution entirely, because nobody tries twice.
The line beside it does the work
A bare code is a request without a reason. Guests scan when they know what they get, so write the outcome rather than the mechanism: their photos from today, in 1 place, for everyone. Naming the absence of an app helps too, because that is the objection people hold silently.
Keep it to 1 line. A paragraph on a table card is read by nobody.
On invitations, add the address
A printed invitation gets photographed and forwarded, and a code on a screen cannot be scanned by the phone showing it. Printing the web address underneath in plain text covers that, and it costs 1 line of small type.
For a digital invitation, make the address a real link. Nobody types a URL from a message.
Paper, light and the surface
Matt paper beats gloss, because a gloss card under a downlight reflects straight into the lens. Light card standing upright beats a flat sheet, which ends up under a plate. And a candle beside the code lights it worse than the room does.
Dark card with a white code works, but only if you exported the white version rather than inverting it yourself.
How many to print
One per table as the baseline, plus 1 at each bar and 1 by the entrance. For a party of 80 at 10 tables that is around 13 signs, which is 4 sheets of A4 cut down. Under-printing is the more expensive mistake of the 2.
Print 1 first, scan it where it will stand, then run the rest.
Common questions
How wide should the code be on a table card?
About 5 cm — roughly a tenth of the distance people will scan it from.
Do I need a different code for each table?
No. One album has 1 code, and every sign carries the same one.
What should the line beside it say?
What the guest gets, in 1 sentence, and that no app is needed.
Why add a text address on invitations?
Because a phone cannot scan a code displayed on its own screen.
Gloss or matt card?
Matt. Gloss reflects venue lighting straight back into the camera.
Still open? Contact
Download your event QR code
The files and the ready-made sign sizes.
Invite guests with a QR code
Getting the room to actually scan it.
A guest cannot scan the code
Margin, size, contrast, light — in that order.
A guest album for a wedding
A card on every table, 1 album for the day.
Your signs are printed and nobody scans
Send us a photo of a sign in place. Position and the line beside it explain more of these than the print does.