# QR codes for agencies and consultants

> For an agency, QR codes are mostly a client deliverable rather than an internal tool. The value is knowing the rules well enough to stop a client printing 20,000 flyers with a 1 cm code across a fold.

Source: https://useqr.app/qr-codes-for/agencies · Last reviewed 2026-08-21 · UseQR is free forever, MIT licensed, no signup.

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## The pre-press checklist

Before any client artwork goes to print:

1. **Scan the actual proof**, not the screen. From the distance the audience will use.
2. **Check size against the ten-to-one rule** — printed width at least the scanning
   distance divided by ten.
3. **Confirm the quiet zone** is four modules on every side, and that nothing sits in it.
4. **Check the code is not across a fold, trim or perforation**, with 8 mm clearance.
5. **Confirm matt finish**, not gloss or spot UV.
6. **Confirm vector artwork** — SVG or PDF, never an upscaled PNG.
7. **Check the destination resolves** and is mobile-friendly, and that it will still resolve
   after the campaign.
8. **Verify contrast** — luminance difference, not hue difference.

Our [validator](/validate) does the contrast and decode checks, and the
[size calculator](/size-calculator) does the distance arithmetic.

## Client conversations worth having

- **"Can we make it smaller?"** — Only if the payload shrinks too. Offer to shorten the URL.
- **"Can we make it our brand colour?"** — Only if luminance contrast holds. Show them the
  validator output rather than arguing.
- **"Can we put the logo in the middle?"** — Yes, at error correction Q or H, up to about
  20% coverage, and only if it still decodes. Verify, do not assume.
- **"Can we change where it points later?"** — Not with a static code. Point it at a redirect
  on the *client's* domain, which they control permanently.

## Bulk work

Variable-data campaigns — unique coupon codes, per-store landing pages — are a
[bulk CSV](/bulk) job. Decode-verify the whole batch before it goes to press.

## Try it

- https://useqr.app/url
- https://useqr.app/validate
- https://useqr.app/size-calculator
- https://useqr.app/bulk