QR codes for designers and agencies
You hand the files over, the client prints thousands. Codes that stay correct, and stay theirs, protect that work.
Designers and agencies need QR codes that print cleanly and keep working after the hand-over. Fixed codes cover most client work: free, in vector formats ready for print. When a client's link may change, as with packaging or campaign print, use editable codes on the client's own subdomain, so the work stays under the client's name.
Brand-ready codes, in vector
Match the client's colours, export SVG or PDF and drop the code straight into the artwork.
What client work asks of a code
Print-ready files
Vector SVG, PDF and EPS without a watermark, plus PNG up to 4096 pixels for screens and mock-ups.
Codes that outlive the hand-over
A fixed code depends on no account. An editable code on the client's domain stays theirs, whoever manages it next.
Changes after print
Menus, packaging and campaign print change after they leave the studio. Editable codes absorb those changes without a reprint.
Fixed or editable for client work
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Fixed QR code (static)
Use fixed codes when the destination is permanent, such as the client's home page or a contact card. They are free, carry no watermark and keep working with no account behind them.
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Editable QR code (dynamic) Our pick for this job
Use editable codes when the client may change the link or wants scan counts. Set them up in the client's own account and on the client's subdomain, from $9 a month on Starter, so they never depend on your studio's plan.
Worked example: a studio's restaurant rebrand
- The brief
- A studio redesigns a restaurant's menus, table cards and business cards in one project.
- The codes
- The business cards get fixed contact codes. The menu code is editable, created in the restaurant's own account on its subdomain.
- The hand-over
- The studio sends the vector files with a one-page note saying which codes are editable and who controls them. Months later the restaurant updates its menu without calling the studio.
A hand-over checklist
Decide per code
For every code in the artwork, ask whether the link could ever change. If the answer is yes, make it editable.
Create editable codes in the client's name
Use the client's account and domain, so billing and control sit with them from the first day.
Proof and document
Scan the printer's proof, then hand over the files with a note of each code's type, destination and owner.
Questions and answers
Before you print
- Is it free?
- Fixed codes are free: make as many as you like, download a PNG with no sign-up, and get every other format and print files with a free account. Editable codes come with a plan, a pass, Keep-alive or the 14-day trial.
- Can I change the link after printing?
- Yes, with an editable code. It holds a short link you control, so you can point the printed code somewhere new any time, and the next scan opens the new page. A fixed code keeps the link it was made with.
- Can I use my own domain?
- Yes. A custom domain is included on passes, from Starter, and during the trial. Starter covers one subdomain, for example go.yourbrand.com, and apex domains start on Pro.
- What happens if I stop paying?
- Editable codes work to the end of your paid period, and after a failed payment every code keeps working for 14 days. Turn codes back on within 12 months. Fixed codes keep working as long as their links do.
Do fixed codes carry a watermark or expire?
Neither. A fixed code holds its destination in the pattern and works for as long as that destination does. Downloads are free in SVG, PNG, JPG, WebP, PDF and EPS, without a watermark.
Should editable codes sit in my account or the client's?
In the client's, wherever you can. If your studio's plan ends, codes in your account stop forwarding; codes in the client's account and on the client's domain stay with the client.
Which file format should I send to print?
Vector: SVG for design tools, PDF or EPS for print shops. They scale without blur. Keep PNG for screens and quick mock-ups.
Can I style the code to match the brand?
Yes: colours, module shapes, eye shapes and a frame with a caption. Keep the code dark on light and test the print; the scan check under the preview flags designs that may fail.
How do I tell a client which codes are editable?
List each code with its type, destination and owner in the hand-over note. A client who knows a code is editable will update it instead of reprinting.
Hand over codes that keep working
Download free vector codes for permanent links, and set up editable ones in the client's name for anything that may change.