How to make a business card with a QR code

Put a code on the back of your card that opens your page and offers to save your contact. A card gets filed away or lost. A saved contact stays in the phone.

What goes on the card

• Your name and what you do
• The code, with a line saying what it does
• One way to reach you in plain text, in case someone will not scan

Everything else can live on the page, which is the point.

Tell people what the code does

"Scan to save my contact" gets scanned. A bare code gets turned over and put away. One line of text is the difference.

Size and placement

Keep the code at least two centimetres across and leave clear space around it. Do not run it to the edge, and do not print it over a photo or a pattern.

Matte, not glossy

Gloss and spot finishes scatter light and cost you scans. Matte is more reliable and looks better in a wallet.

Test before the print run

Scan it with two phones, one of them old, at arm's length, in ordinary indoor light. Order a sample if the printer offers one.

The card never goes out of date

Because the code points at a page you can edit, changing your number, your hours or your title costs nothing. The cards in people's wallets stay correct.