You printed a QR code, someone points their camera at it, and… nothing. Frustrating — and costly. The good news: almost every scanning problem comes down to one of eight fixable causes. Here they are.
1. Not enough contrast
Light-on-light or busy colors confuse scanners. Use a dark foreground on a light background, and avoid low-contrast combinations.
2. The code is too small
Print at least 2 × 2 cm — bigger for anything scanned from a distance (posters, signage). A rule of thumb: size ≈ scan distance ÷ 10.
3. The "quiet zone" was cropped
QR codes need a clear margin around them. If a design crowds the edges, scanners fail. Leave whitespace.
4. The logo is too big
A centered logo is fine, but if it covers too much of the pattern the code breaks. Keep it under ~20% and test. See how to add a logo safely.
5. Low print quality or distortion
Blurry printing, stretching, or a wrinkled surface all hurt scanning. Use a crisp high-resolution PNG and don't stretch it.
6. Bad placement
Curved bottles, shiny plastic, or awkward angles reduce scans. Put codes on flat, well-lit, reachable surfaces.
7. The destination is broken
The code might scan fine but lead to a dead page. With a dynamic QR you can simply update the destination — no reprinting.
8. It's a static code you can't change
If the link changed and your code is static, it's stuck. Dynamic codes (like lynkily's) are editable, so you fix the link and the printed code keeps working.
The reliable way to avoid all this
Create dynamic, high-contrast, properly sized codes and test before printing. Every lynkily link comes with a trackable QR you can edit anytime. Start with the free QR code generator.