QR codes on product packaging

A packaging QR code has to work for as long as the product exists, which makes permanence the design constraint rather than size. Point it at a stable path on your own domain, never a campaign URL or a third-party shortener, and use error correction Q.

Permanence is the hard part

A poster lives six weeks. A tin of paint lives ten years in a shed. Every decision should assume the longer horizon:

Point at a stable path on a domain you own — example.com/p/1042 — never at example.com/spring-2026-campaign.
Never a third-party shortener. When it is retired, every unit already in the world dies simultaneously.
Record the redirect in your infrastructure documentation. The realistic failure mode is not the domain lapsing; it is an engineer removing an unfamiliar redirect rule during a site rebuild in 2031.

Physical constraints

2–3 cm of code, error correction Q.
On a cylinder, keep the code within about a third of the circumference; beyond that the edge modules foreshorten past what alignment patterns can correct.
Never across a crease, glue flap or perforation. Keep 5 mm clear.
Matt varnish over the code. Gloss and spot UV reflect.
On metallised board, print a white flood beneath the code — metallic substrates have no reliable luminance contrast.
On corrugated, run the modules across the flutes rather than along them.
Uncoated board spreads ink, so keep the payload short and modules at 0.5 mm or above.

What to link

Ranked by measured value:

How to use it — reduces returns and support contacts.
Care, ingredients, allergens or safety detail — but never as the only route; see below.
Reorder or subscribe.
Provenance and sustainability — increasingly expected, and soon required in some categories.
Registration or warranty.

Never QR-only for regulated information

Allergen declarations, safety warnings and statutory labelling must remain on the pack. A code may add depth; it cannot replace the printed statement. Anyone without a phone, without signal, or with low vision must still get the safety information.

Make the linked page real HTML with proper heading structure so a screen reader works.

Where regulation is heading

GS1 Digital Link encodes the GTIN, batch and expiry in the URL path, so one code serves the till, the supply chain and the consumer:

https://example.com/01/09520123456788/10/ABC123/17/260901

The retail Sunrise 2027 migration and the EU Digital Product Passport are both moving packaging toward exactly this. If you are redesigning packaging now, encode a Digital Link rather than a bare URL — retrofitting later means new artwork for every SKU.

FAQ

What should a QR code on packaging point at?

A stable path on a domain you own, which you commit to keeping alive for the life of the product. Never a campaign URL or a third-party shortener.

What size should a packaging QR code be?

Two to three centimetres for a 20–30 cm reading distance, at error correction Q to survive creasing, handling and abrasion.

Can a QR code replace printed allergen information?

No. Regulated information must stay on the pack. A code can add depth but cannot be the only route, for legal and accessibility reasons.

Should I use GS1 Digital Link on packaging?

If you are redesigning artwork now, yes. It lets one code serve the point of sale, the supply chain and the consumer, and it is the direction both Sunrise 2027 and the EU Digital Product Passport are pushing.