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QR codes, made.
No strings attached.

A link, a contact card, an address, Wi-Fi access — ready in seconds and fit for print. Everything is generated inside your browser: what you type never leaves your device.

  • No registration
  • No cookies
  • No upload
  • Valid forever

Background image: AI-generated

A cheerful handyman with a tool belt carrying a tall stack of freshly printed QR code cards.

Your QR code

Pick a type, fill in the fields — the preview updates as you type.

Leave off https:// and we will add it for you.

Preview

Fill in at least one field on the left and your QR code appears right here.

Use SVG for print — it stays sharp at any size.

Appearance

Higher levels survive scratches and logos but make the pattern denser.

The light border is part of the code. Below 4 modules you are asking for trouble.

Encoded content

          

The difference

Why qrmacher.de

A tool that does exactly one thing — and wants nothing from you in return.

Runs in your browser

Codes are built on your own device. Neither address nor phone number nor Wi-Fi password is transmitted — there simply is no server on our side that would receive them.

Valid forever

We generate static codes. The content sits in the pattern itself, not behind a redirect that we could switch off one day.

Ready for print

SVG for the print shop and the signage, PNG up to 2000 pixels for web and social. Colour, quiet zone and error correction are yours to set.

Free, no account

No subscription, no limit, no watermark and no email address we want from you first. The site is funded by advertising.

kinds of code
8
cookies, 0 accounts
0
codes, no limit
unlimited
forever, no subscription
£0

All eight kinds

Which code for what

Not every QR code does the same thing. What sits inside the pattern decides what happens on scanning — whether a website opens, a contact is created or the phone joins a Wi-Fi network. Here is when each kind is the right one.

Link to a web page

The most common case and the one with the most leverage: menu, directions, booking page, review page, instruction manual. Anything already on the web becomes reachable from paper.

Link · The shorter the address, the coarser the pattern — and the more reliably it scans from a distance. Long tracking parameters bloat the code for nothing. A tidy address on your own domain beats a 200-character campaign link every time.

Contact card as vCard

Name, company, phone, email and address in one code. The phone turns it straight into a contact — no retyping, no typos in the phone number. Worth having on a printed business card, a trade fair badge, a company vehicle or in an email signature.

Contact card · Every extra field makes the pattern denser. Fill in everything — including a note and a second phone number — and you get a code that is barely scannable at business card size. Keep to what is actually needed.

Address or location

Opens the maps app at the right spot. Useful in a shop window, on an invitation, at a delivery entrance or on a sign pointing to the car park. Coordinates pin the exact place, which helps wherever the address alone is ambiguous: a depot, a building site, a festival ground, a forest car park.

Address · Without coordinates the address is passed on as a search query. That works reliably for an ordinary street address, but not for “the field behind the sports club”.

Wi-Fi access

Guests scan and they are online — nobody has to read out a sixteen-character password or chalk it on a board. The classic in cafés, holiday flats, waiting rooms, workshops and clubhouses.

Wi-Fi · Use the guest network, not the main one. A code on the wall hands the password to everyone who enters the room — harmless on a guest network, rather less so on the one carrying your printer, till and file storage.

Email with a prepared subject

Opens the mail app with recipient, subject and body filled in. Good for support enquiries, feedback, applications or fault reports — anywhere incoming messages need sorting.

Email · A fixed subject line such as “Fault, unit 4711” saves more time at the receiving end than you would think: it turns a shapeless email into a case that can be filed.

Phone number

One scan, one call. Belongs on out-of-hours notices, on machines with a spare-parts hotline, on site signage and anywhere someone may need to reach a person quickly.

Phone · Always store it with the country code (+49 rather than 0), otherwise the call fails from abroad or from a foreign mobile network.

Text message, prepared

Opens the messaging app with number and text ready. Useful for callback requests, sign-ups by text or meter readings — anywhere an app would be asking too much.

SMS · The message is prepared, not sent. That is deliberate: no scan should fire off a message on someone's behalf.

Plain text

The scanner simply shows what is inside — no internet connection needed. Right for serial numbers, maintenance notes, care instructions, inventory numbers or explanatory text beside an exhibit.

Text · The only kind that works completely offline. That makes it the right choice in a cellar, an underground car park and anywhere without reception.

From practice

Printing QR codes properly

Most codes that fail were not generated wrongly — they were printed wrongly. Four things decide whether a code gets read in everyday use.

Size: one tenth of the reading distance

The rule of thumb is 1:10. To be scanned from two metres it needs roughly 20 centimetres per side. On a business card held in the hand, two centimetres is plenty. A construction fence banner read from ten metres needs a metre.

When in doubt, go larger. An oversized code bothers nobody; an undersized one is worthless.

Quiet zone: the light border is part of it

A clear area of at least four module widths must stay around the pattern. It is not decorative white space but part of the code — it is how the scanner knows where the pattern ends.

The most common layout mistake: the code is set flush to the edge, or text crowds in beside it. Then reading fails even though the pattern itself is flawless.

Contrast: dark on light, never the other way round

Scanners expect dark modules on a light background. Light modules on dark are not recognised at all by many devices. Colour is fine as long as the contrast stays clear — a deep teal on cream works, a mid grey on beige does not.

Keep gradients out of the pattern and photos out of the background. Our generator warns as soon as the chosen combination becomes critical.

Material and placement

Matt paper beats gloss: reflective surfaces and protective film throw highlights that swallow modules in the camera image. Curved surfaces such as bottles or pipes distort the pattern. And the code has to be reachable — anything above two and a half metres does not get scanned, it gets overlooked.

Before the print run, always scan a proof at final size, with an older phone and in poor light. After a thousand flyers it is too late.

Troubleshooting

When the code will not read

It is almost always one of these. Work through them in this order.

  1. Too small for the distance

    By far the most common reason. Check the 1:10 rule and enlarge if in doubt.

  2. The quiet zone is missing

    Four module widths of light border all round. If something sits too close, even a perfect pattern will not help.

  3. Too little contrast, or inverted

    Dark on light. Light modules on a dark background are the second most common reason for codes that work only on some devices.

  4. Reflection or curvature

    Gloss, protective film behind glass, or a bent surface. Print matt and apply flat.

  5. Damaged or partly covered

    Scratches, creases, dirt. For codes that will take a beating, set error correction to Q or H from the start — then they stay readable even with a piece missing.

  6. Too much content in the code

    The more characters, the finer the pattern and the larger the print has to be. Long texts belong on a web page, with only the link in the code.

  7. The destination is wrong

    A typo in the address, an expired page, a mistyped phone number. Always scan before you print — and scan the finished code, not the preview.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Most of it comes down to print size, readability and whether a code eventually expires. These are the answers we give most often.

Still wondering?

Write to us — you will get an answer from a person, not a form letter.

Send an email
Do the QR codes stay valid?

Yes. These are static codes: the content sits directly in the pattern. They keep working even if this site were to disappear one day — unlike providers that route through their own redirect and switch it off when a subscription lapses.

What does it cost?

Nothing. There is no paid tier, no limit and no watermark. The site is funded by advertising.

Do you store what I type?

No. Generation happens entirely inside your browser. Your input is never transmitted to us and we do not store it anywhere.

Which format should I use for print?

SVG. It is a vector file and stays razor sharp at any size — from a business card to a construction fence banner. PNG is the right choice for websites, slides and social media.

How large does a printed QR code need to be?

A rule of thumb is one tenth of the reading distance: to be scanned from two metres away it needs roughly 20 centimetres per side. Two centimetres is plenty on a business card. The light quiet zone around it matters just as much.

My code will not scan — why?

Almost always one of three things: too little contrast between foreground and background, a missing quiet zone at the edge, or a print size that is too small. Light modules on a dark background are another common cause — swap the colours around.

Can I change the content later?

Not with a static code, because the content lives in the pattern. If you want to change the destination later, encode a short URL on your own domain and redirect that. The printed code stays valid and you only change where it points.

May I use the codes commercially?

Yes, without restriction and without attribution. The codes you generate are yours. “QR Code” is a registered trademark of DENSO WAVE; the standard itself is free to use.