A business card is the smallest thing most people ever put a QR code on. That makes every millimetre count. Get three decisions right, what the code holds, how big it is and where it sits, and the card will work for years.
Step 1: choose what the code holds
There are two sensible options. A vCard is a block of text in a standard contact format. When scanned, the phone offers to save a new contact with your name, number and email. It needs no internet and no website. The cost is size. A vCard with a name, company, phone, email and web address is around 230 characters, which makes a dense code.
A link points to a profile page you control. The code is short, around 40 characters, so it prints small and clean. The page can hold a Save contact button, your social links and a photo. And you can change the details without reprinting the cards. The cost is that the reader needs a signal, and one more tap.
Do this
A short link to a profile page with a Save contact button, printed as a version 3 code at 2 cm.
Not this
A vCard containing your full postal address, two phone numbers and a 400-character note, printed at 1.5 cm.
Here is a real vCard code with dummy details, at error correction level L (low) to keep it as small as it can be.
If you choose a vCard, keep it to name, one number, one email and one web address. Every extra field adds modules and makes the code harder to print small. The payload builder shows the module count as you add fields.
Step 2: print it at 2 cm or more
A card is read at arm’s length, about 20 to 30 cm. One tenth of that is 2 to 3 cm, so 2 cm is the floor for a link code. A vCard has more modules in the same space, and each module gets smaller. Below about 0.5 mm per module, ordinary print smudges them together. The vCard code above is version 9, 53 modules wide. With its quiet zone that is 61 modules, so at 2 cm each module is about 0.33 mm. Print a vCard at 3 cm or more instead. The size guide has the full table.
Do this
A link code at version 3, 2.5 cm wide including its quiet zone, modules of about 0.7 mm. Scans on any phone.
Not this
A vCard code at version 9, 2 cm wide, modules of about 0.33 mm. Fuzzy on a card printer and unreadable under a desk lamp.
Worked example: a standard 85 by 55 mm card. A 2.5 cm link code, or a 3 cm vCard code, with its quiet zone takes about half the height of the card. That leaves room for a line of text above or below. It will not fit comfortably on the front with a name, title and logo.
Step 3: put it on the back
The back of a card is usually empty or carries a single colour. That gives the code a clean, light background and the space it needs. It also lets you add a call to action. Scan to save my contact, or Scan for my portfolio. The front stays uncluttered for your name.
Do this
Code on the back, centred, with Scan to save my details printed beneath it and the short URL under that.
Not this
Code squeezed into the front corner between the logo and the phone number, with no explanation.
Step 4: keep the quiet zone away from the card edge
The quiet zone is the blank border around the code, at least four modules wide. On a card it collides with two things: the trim edge and any background colour. Printers trim cards with a tolerance of a millimetre or two. If the quiet zone touches the edge, the trim may eat it. Keep the whole code, including its quiet zone, at least 5 mm inside the edge. And if the back is a dark brand colour, put the code on a white tile with its quiet zone inside the tile.
Do this
A code with a 4-module quiet zone, sitting on a white tile, 6 mm from every edge of the card.
Not this
A code placed hard against the bottom edge so the quiet zone is inside the trim allowance and half of it disappears.
Step 5: choose matt over gloss
Gloss laminate looks smart and reflects light straight into a phone camera. Under a ceiling light the top of the code becomes a white glare and the scanner cannot find the corner squares. Matt or soft-touch laminate, or uncoated stock, scans in any light. If the brand insists on gloss, ask the printer for a spot matt varnish over the code area alone.
Do this
Matt laminate across the whole back, black code on white.
Not this
High-gloss laminate, code printed in a dark blue that reads as black in the mock-up and as a mirror in a meeting room.
Common mistake
Making the code a mid-grey to match a subtle design. Grey on white can have a contrast ratio below 3 to 1, and a card is often read in poor light. Keep the modules black or a very dark brand colour. The colours and contrast guide has the numbers.
Step 6: export and proof
Give the printer a vector file, SVG or PDF, so the code is sharp at any size. If they want a bitmap, export at least 600 px for a 2.5 cm code. Then print one card yourself on similar stock and scan it with two phones under an ordinary office light before approving the run. The testing guide has the ten-step routine.
Try it in QR Studio
QR Studio has a vCard type with the fields laid out, shows the version and module size as you type, and exports SVG and print-ready PDF so the card printer gets a vector.
Checklist
- Decided between a vCard and a link to a profile page
- vCard trimmed to name, one number, one email, one URL
- Code at least 2 cm, or 3 cm for a vCard
- Module size above 0.5 mm at the printed size
- Placed on the back with a call to action and a printed URL
- Quiet zone of four modules kept, and the code 5 mm or more from every edge
- Dark modules on white or a white tile
- Matt finish, or spot matt varnish over the code
- Exported as SVG or PDF
- Proof card printed and scanned with two phones
Try it yourself
Fill in the vCard fields and watch the version number change. Then try the same details as a short link and compare the module count.