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.
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.