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QR Code Generator

Generate high-quality QR codes for your product packaging. Add URLs, contact info, WiFi credentials, or plain text.

QR Code Content

Your QR code will appear here

QR Codes for Packaging

Product Information

Link to detailed ingredient lists, sourcing info, or nutritional breakdowns

Traceability

Enable lot tracking and supply chain transparency for consumers

Promotions

Drive traffic to coupons, loyalty programs, or special offers

Recipes & Usage

Share cooking instructions, serving suggestions, or recipe ideas

Regulatory Compliance

Link to full allergen info, certifications, or safety data sheets

Customer Feedback

Direct customers to review pages or feedback forms

QR codes on food packaging

What the code actually contains

A QR code stores a short piece of text, and the phone decides what to do from the way that text begins. This generator builds the text for six content types: a URL, plain text, an email (a mailto: link with an optional subject), a phone number (tel:), WiFi credentials, and a vCard contact in version 3.0 format.

The codes are static. What you enter is encoded directly into the pattern, with no redirect service and no tracking in between, so the code works indefinitely - and its destination is fixed the moment it is printed.

WiFi and vCard payloads have their own escaping rules, and the tool applies them. In a network name or password, semicolons, commas, colons, quotes and backslashes are escaped; without that, a password containing a semicolon is silently cut short and the phone tries to join with the wrong one.

Error correction levels

QR codes carry redundant data so that a damaged code can still be read. The four levels recover roughly 7% (L), 15% (M), 25% (Q) and 30% (H) of the code. The default here is M.

The redundancy is not free. A higher level needs more modules - the small squares - for the same content, so at a fixed printed size each module is smaller and harder for a camera to resolve. Choose Q or H where the code may be scuffed, creased or printed on a rough substrate; stay at L or M where it is printed small on a clean, flat surface.

Content length drives print size

Every extra character adds data, and more data means a denser pattern. A long URL carrying tracking parameters produces a visibly busier code than a short one, and a busy code needs more physical space to scan reliably. Shortening the content is usually the cheapest way to make a small code work.

The generator renders between 100 and 2,000 pixels wide, with a margin of two modules built into the image. Leave further clear space around it in the artwork rather than cropping close to the pattern, and keep dark modules on a light background - the colour pickers accept any combination, including ones a scanner cannot separate.

Choosing an export format

  • SVG and EPS are true vector output and scale to any size without loss - the right choice for packaging artwork.
  • PDF and AI place the generated image on a page with a 10 mm margin; the AI file is PDF-based and opens in Illustrator. The image inside is raster, so set a large pixel size before exporting either.
  • PNG is raster at the size you set and suits screens. JPEG has no transparency, so it is flattened onto your background colour.
  • The PSD option saves a high-resolution image of at least 2,000 pixels that opens in Photoshop, not a layered file.

Where a QR code fits on a label

The usual jobs on food packaging are traceability (a batch or lot page), extended product information, recipes and customer feedback. Each of these adds to the label; none of them relocates content the label itself has to carry.

One regulated use in the US is the bioengineered food disclosure, where the USDA standard allows a digital link as one of the disclosure options, subject to prescribed on-pack wording and a telephone number to call for more information. Disclosure by text message is a separate option. This tool generates the code only; the wording around it has to come from the standard. The rest of the panel can be built in the label generator.

For product codes at the till, use the Barcode Generator and read UPC vs EAN; for what must still be printed on the pack, run the FDA Label Checklist.

Reference information, not legal advice. Requirements change and turn on facts specific to your product - confirm against the current regulation before relying on it.

Common questions

Can a QR code replace information required on the label?

Only where a rule specifically allows it. Mandatory US label elements such as the statement of identity, net quantity, ingredient list, allergen declaration and Nutrition Facts panel must be on the package. A QR code is an addition for traceability, provenance, recipes or extended information, not a way to move required text off the pack.

What is the digital link disclosure for bioengineered food?

The USDA National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard permits an electronic or digital link disclosure, and where that route is used the label must carry accompanying instructions and a telephone number to call for more information, so a shopper without a smartphone can still get the information. Disclosure by text message is a separate option. The wording of the on-pack instruction is prescribed, so follow the standard rather than paraphrasing it.

What makes a QR code fail in practice?

Too little quiet zone around it, insufficient contrast, printing it too small for the substrate, placing it on a curved or crimped area, or inverting the colours. Test the printed pack under retail lighting with several phones, not the artwork on screen. A code that only scans off a monitor is a code that fails in the aisle.

Should the destination URL be permanent?

Yes, and point it at a URL you control that can be redirected later. Packaging outlives websites: printed stock stays in the supply chain for months or years, and a dead link on a pack cannot be patched. A stable short URL under your own domain, redirected server-side, is the safe pattern.

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Check your own jurisdiction

This tool is not tied to one country's rules. What you declare on the label is, and the requirements differ.

Regulation libraryAll 152 label formats, each cited to the paragraph it follows.Coverage by countryFind the rules that apply where you sell.

Read more

Getting into Retail · 6 minUPC vs EAN: UPC-A, EAN-13 and Code 128 GuideCompare UPC vs EAN barcodes, UPC-A vs EAN-13 and Code 128 vs UPC. Learn which barcode to use, GTIN basics and print requirements.