QR Code Generator
Make a sharp QR code for a link, text or Wi-Fi network and download it as a PNG with no watermark, without anything leaving your browser
QR Code Details
A phone that scans this code offers to join the network. The password sits inside the code as plain text, so print or share it only where you would also tell people the password. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
How a QR code works
A QR (Quick Response) code is a two-dimensional barcode that stores data in a grid of dark and light squares. Unlike dynamic QR codes, which send people through a redirect service (and often track them), this generator makes static codes.
Made in your browser: the pattern is drawn with the HTML5 canvas right on your device. The PNG is yours to keep, with no subscription, no expiring link and no tracking inside.
Your QR Code
This text is too long to fit in a QR code. Please shorten it and try again.
How to use this tool
- Type or paste the text or URL you want to encode.
- Pick the code color and the background color. Keep a dark code on a light background so scanners can read it.
- Set the image resolution; the larger the size, the sharper the printed code.
- Scan the preview with a phone camera, then press “Download PNG”.
Worked example
Imagine a café that wants a table card linking to its online menu. Paste the menu address, keep black on white at 1024 × 1024 px and download the PNG. A short address creates a coarse grid with big squares that is easy to scan, while a long address makes a dense grid whose squares shrink, so a short link is the safer choice for small prints. Before printing a hundred cards, scan a test print with two different phones from the distance a guest would hold them. The code is static: it encodes the text directly, so if the menu address changes later, you must generate and reprint a new code.
Methodology
This tool generates Quick Response matrix barcodes following the ISO/IEC 18004 QR Code symbology standard (Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture techniques — QR Code bar code symbology specification). A symbol is a square grid of dark and light modules: version 1 is 21 × 21 modules and each higher version adds 4 modules per side, up to version 40 at 177 × 177. The generator picks the smallest version that fits your text, so a short URL produces a coarse, easy-to-scan grid while a long paragraph produces a dense one.
QR codes that scan on screen but fail on paper
A code that scans on your screen can still fail on paper. These are the mistakes behind most of those failures.
- Pasting a link full of tracking parameters. Every extra character can push the code to a bigger grid (21 × 21 modules at version 1, 4 more per side with each version). At 1,024 px, a 57-module grid leaves about 18 px per module; at 256 px it is only about 4.5. Shorten the address first.
- Choosing a light code on a dark background. The color pickers accept anything, but the safe pairing is the default dark code on a light background. Some scanner apps reject inverted codes, so keep the contrast strong and test it.
- Placing the PNG edge to edge. The download is the bare grid with no blank border. Put it on a white area with a margin of a few modules, not directly against artwork or the paper edge.
- Exporting 256 px for a poster. The size slider offers 256, 512, 768 and 1,024 px, and the PNG is a fixed-size picture, not a vector. Stretching a small export blurs the modules, so choose the largest for anything printed.
- Printing before testing a static code. The text is baked into the squares and cannot be edited later. Scan a test print with two different phones from realistic distance, and make sure the address behind it will stay put.
Take your QR codes off the screen
A label printer, a QR scanner and sticker paper for printing and testing codes
JADENS Bluetooth Thermal Shipping Label Printer
A Bluetooth thermal label printer, according to the listing. Labels printed in black on white keep QR codes high-contrast.
Tera 2D Wireless Barcode & QR Scanner
A wireless 2D scanner that reads QR codes on paper and on screens, according to the listing, useful for testing codes before you print many.
Printable Matte Sticker Paper (40 Sheets)
Matte full-sheet sticker paper for home printers, 40 sheets, according to the listing, for printing QR codes as stickers.
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Frequently asked questions
How do I make a QR code for my Wi-Fi? ▼
Choose “Wi-Fi network”, type the network name exactly as it appears (it is case-sensitive), the password and the security type, then download the PNG. The code uses the common WIFI: format that phone cameras read: modern iPhones and Android phones offer to join the network when they scan it. Special characters such as ; , : and \ are escaped automatically. Anyone who scans the code can read the password, so treat the printout like the password itself.
Do these QR codes ever expire? ▼
No. These are static QR codes: the raw data (such as your website address) is encoded directly in the pattern of squares, with no redirect service in between. The code itself never stops working, but it can only point where you told it to. If the page behind a URL is moved or deleted, the code leads nowhere, and because a static code cannot be edited afterwards, you would have to print a new one.
Why is my QR code not scanning? ▼
The most common cause is poor contrast. The background must be clearly lighter than the code color, and black on white is the most reliable. Light-on-dark or inverted colors are rejected by some scanner apps. Also check that the code is not squeezed against other graphics: the standard requires a blank quiet zone around the symbol, and the downloaded PNG is the bare grid, so place it on a white area with a margin of a few modules. Finally, print it large enough for the grid, since a dense version-20 symbol needs far bigger modules than a short link.
How much text can one code hold? ▼
At the Level H used here, the largest symbol (version 40, 177 × 177 modules) holds 1,276 data codewords, about 1,270 plain ASCII characters, and accented or emoji characters take more than one byte each. In practice keep it far shorter: a URL under about 100 characters gives a sparse grid that phones read quickly even from a poster or a business card.
Can I use this for commercial purposes? ▼
Yes. Denso Wave, the inventor, holds the QR Code trademark but has stated that codes made to the ISO/IEC 18004 standard can be used freely, and this generator adds no watermarks, logos or restrictions. The PNG you download is yours to print on packaging, menus or flyers. Always test the final printed version with more than one phone before a large print run.