GENERAL
Are there any limits on using QR Stuff QR codes?
No. Free users and subscribers have unlimited use of the QR codes they create on the QR Stuff website.
- Our QR codes are not time-limited in anyway and don't "expire".
- You can generate as many QR codes as you want.
- There are no limits on the number of times they can be scanned.
- There are no limits on commercial use.
Is a license required to use or create QR codes?
The use of QR codes is free of any license. The QR code is clearly defined and published as an open ISO standard. Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR codes, and the methods used to encode and create them, but has chosen not to exercise them, however the term "QR code" itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.
Is there a charge for your QR codes?
No. User-generated QR codes are made freely available to both free users and subscribers without any limitations or charges being levied. The QR code encoding method used for all QR codes generated on this website is identical regardless of user class.
The subscription fee charged solely relates to providing time-limited access to a specific QR code generation and management feature set for the period of the subscription purchased. No component of the subscription fee relates to purchasing the QR codes themselves.
Do I have to use your URL shortner?
No. Using our URL shortener is entirely optional. Unlike many other QR code generators that force you to use their URL shortner whether you want to or not, with QR Stuff you can put your own direct website address into the QR code if you prefer. why is that important?
Are your QR codes ad-free?
Yes. Our QR codes are guaranteed 100% ad-free. If you see ads after scanning one of our QR codes, they've been put there by your scanning app.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
How do I contact customer support?
Because we are dealing with users from all time zones, our customer support is conducted by email or a phone or Skype call-back to you.
- Free Users: Techincal support on issues directly related to using the QR Stuff website is available to free users by emailing info@qrstuff.com. Depending on your time zone, the maximum response time for an email response will be 12-24 hours, but could be considerably less. Phone support is not available for free users.
- Intending Subscribers: Sales support on matters relating to subscription pricing, features and benefits is available to intending subscribers by emailing info@qrstuff.com. Responses will generally be by email, however at our discretion we may also make a phone or Skype call-back to discuss your requirements with you if you provide your contact details.
- Subscribers: Advice, assistance and support on all aspects of using the QR Stuff website, scanning and deployment issues, useage scenarios, and QR code technology generally are available to subscribers with active accounts by emailing info@qrstuff.com. We will either respond directly to you by email, or by a phone or Skype call-back to discuss your issues with you. Depending on your time zone, the maximum response time will be 12 hours, but could be considerably less.
Emails that simply say "there's something wrong with my QR code" or "my QR code won't work" with no futher information or contact details usually end up being ignored since we don't really have much we can get back to you with. Try and include as much information as you can about the QR code, the issues you're having, and the circumstances relating to the issue. Attaching a copy of the QR code image helps us as well.
Subscribers should also mention their account number and the Code ID number of the QR code in question (that's the 7 digit number shown in your account history for that QR code).
Depending on how our day is going, abusive or flamey emails will either be replied to in-kind or will be ignored completely. If you're about to write an email that you probably wouldn't appreciate receiving yourself, take a deep breath and re-think how you'd like things to work out. We're just tech-heads with a "do unto others" policy, so be nice and we'll get on just fine.
Finally, it should go without saying that we only provide support for QR codes created at QRStuff.com but disturbingly, using past emails as a guide, it actually does need to be said.
PAYMENTS
I don't have a Paypal account. Can I pay by credit card?
Yes. Once you've filled out the subscription form and have been redirected to Paypal, you should have the opportunity to simply use Paypal as a third party credit card portal without the need to sign into a Paypal account.
Do you have educational pricing?
Yes. Educational pricing is available on request for primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions and their teaching staff.
Sign up for a particular subscription period and get a free upgrade to the next subscription period. eg; sign up for 1 month and get upgraded to 3 months free of charge. 12 month subscriptions will receive a $36 dollar refund back to the 6 month subscription price.
These account upgrades are done manually at our end so you'll need to contact us to make it happen after you've set up and paid for your subscription - just send a quick email to info@qrstuff.com outlining who you work for and what your role there is and we'll take it from there.
Can you invoice me first?
Yes. We can send you a Paypal invoice that you can pay against. Once payment has been received your subscription account will be opened. Email us for more information.
Do you offer refunds?
Yes. For subscriptions of 3 months or more, if you're not happy with the service just email us and we'll refund the unused portion of your subscription. The refund will be made back to the Paypal account used to open the subscription initially. Refunds are not available for 24 hour or 1 month subscriptions.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
What do I get with a paid subscription?
- Dynamic QR codes - change the destination of the QR code without altering the QR code image when using our URL shortener.
- Dynamic vCard QR codes - change QR code linked contact details without altering the QR code image when using our URL shortener.
- Analytics - Traffic reporting for QR codes that use our URL shortener. Real-time analytics data is available within your account in date searchable table form showing date, time, device type and location for each scan event. There is unique reporting for each QR code, and the data is also available as an Excel download (Screenshot).
- High Resolution QR Codes - Create QR code image at sizes up to 3000 pixels and resolutions up to 300dpi - that's 41 inches wide at 72pdi! Sample).
- Batch Processing - Upload a TSV file and automatically generate up to 500 QR codes in a single pass More info).
- Account History - Reporting for all QR codes created within your account, including regenerating past QR codes.
- User-defined project names for each QR code.
- Password protected QR codes - make your QR codes private
- Downloadable status and specifications report for every QR code you create.
- Unlimited generation of QR codes and batches during the subscription period.
- No monthly scan limits or limits on commercial use.
- Download, email or print delivery.
How much does a subscription cost?
The advanced feature set of the website is available to all subscribers using a time-based subscription model:
- 24 hour - $3.95
- 1 month - $11.95
- 3 months - $27.95 (save 20% compared with 1 month subscription)
- 6 months - $49.95 (save 30% compared with 1 month subscription)
- 12 months - $85.95 (save 40% compared with 1 month subscription)
A subscriber paying $3.95 gets access to exactly the same features as a subscriber paying $85.95, but for 24 hours rather than 12 months.
Are there any hidden costs?
No. Everything is covered by your subscription. No quotas, no caps, no add-ons, no sneaky service charges.
Do your QR codes expire?
No. The QR codes themselves are not time limited in any way and will continue to work indefinitely. The subscription period simply determines how long you have access to the advanced QR code generation, management and reporting features of the QRStuff.com website, and is not related to the working life of the QR codes you generate.
What happens if my subscription expires?
When you attempt to log in to an expired account there will be a message saying your subscription has expired and a link that allows you to renew. All account history and data for expired accounts is retained on our server, and analytics data continues to be collected even for expired accounts, so when you renew an expired account all of your up-to-date account history, data, projects and analytics will be there waiting for you.
Can a QR code be transferred from one account to another?
Yes. If you need to transfer a QR code from one subscription account to another just contact us with details of which QR code it is, what account it's currently in, and which one you'd like it transferred to.
Can a QR code I created as a free user be transferred to my account?
Yes, but since there's no sign-up process for free users, any QR codes that you created as a free user were created anonymously with no connection to you as a user, so it wouldn't have been possible for them to be transferred to your account automatically when you signed up. With some help from you regarding the content you placed into the QR code, or (even better!) the ID number of the QR code (the 7 digit number shown as part of the file name when you download the QR code image file), we can usually track them down in the database and manually re-allocate them to your subscriber account. Contact us quoting your subscriber account number if you need any old QR codes transferred to your subscriber account.
How do I get my password again?
At the top of each page is a "Forgot Password" link - click on it and follow the prompts. A new password will be emailed to the email address associated with your account. You can also use this process to reset the password on your account.
The answer to the following questions is always "No"
- Can I add a QR code to my account that I created somewhere else?
- Do you have a free trial subscription?
ANALYTICS
What sort of analytics reporting do you offer?
The analytics data for redirected URL's using our URL shortener service is presented within your subscriber account on the website in date searchable table form showing date, time, device type and location for each scan event, and in real time. The data is also available as Excel download. Reporting is available for each unique QR code.
Are analytics available on all your QR codes?
Our analytics can only collect data if you use one of our shortened URL's so that the user bounces back through our website and we can collect the required data on the way through. Many other QR code generator websites force you to use a shortened URL whether you want to or not, but we've decided to make it optional so that you can actually have your real website address in the QR code if you want to.
The downside of that is that since there's no tracking mechanism in the QR code itself, the visitor will scan the QR code and then go directly to your website without detouring through our server first. Because this gives us no opportunity to intercept that path and collect tracking data on your behalf, you will need to use something like Google Analytics at the URL that the code points to.
Tracking also isn't available for contact details embedded directly into the QR code since the scan event only involves the QR code itself and the person scanning it, without any possibility of us intercepting the event to gather tracking information on your behalf. If you need analytics tracking for a vCard QR code you will need to use our URL shortener.
How do I access the analytics report for the QR codes I've generated?
When you login into your account, your account history is accessed by a link in the top right of the page. Any QR codes that use our URL shortener will have a small magnifying glass icon shown on the right hand side of the history report - click it to access the analytics for that QR code.
Are phone numbers and email addresses included in the analytics reports?
User information stored on the phone which is used to scan the QR code isn't accessible at all because of security built into the phone itself.
BATCH PROCESSING
How does batch processing work?
Upload a single TSV file containing the details of up to 500 individual QR codes and process them as a single batch. Once processing has been completed a single ZIP file containing a PNG or PDF file for each of the QR codes in the batch can be downloaded or sent by email.
QR code image size (up to 3000px), resolution (up to 300dpi), output format (PNG or PDF) and colour can be specified for the QR codes in a batch. Batch processing directly supports URL, vCard, text string, phone number and email address encoding, and indirectly supports MATMSG encoding format. Codes within a single batch can be mixed format.
A TSV tab-delimited file can be created from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet by choosing "Text (Tab delimited)" from the Save As Type drop-down box. Google Docs also supports TSV export.
Download the batch processing information sheet...
What about batches of more than 500?
The maximum online batch size limit of 500 codes per batch has been set to avoid undue server load across the sessions of other users. For registered users with more than 20,000 codes to generate we offer a service whereby the job is run locally at our end - the cost of this service is US$1.25/1000 codes (a reduced rate of US$1.10/1000 applies for jobs involving >100,000 codes) plus a US$65 processing fee.
Just send us the TSV or Excel file containing your batch data and we'll look after the rest. The QR code image files for the batch are then emailed to you in zip files.
Payment is by Paypal prior to job commencement and turnaround is 48-72 hours from when payment has been received.
Send us an email for more information.
USING QR CODES
Why won't my QR code scan?
While the QR codes themselves conform to an ISO standard, not all app developers are as diligent with standards compliance as they should be. In our experience about 80% of issues relating to scan errors are because the scanning app being used is sub-standard, or is challenged by QR codes containing anything more complex than a website URL.
Our blog post Not All Scanning Apps Are Created Equal goes into detail on some of the issues, however a quick browse through the user reviews for QR code scanning apps in the iTunes App Store, Android Market or Blackberry App World will highlight which apps are worth having and which have known issues.
What size should a QR code be?
We recommend no smaller than 2cm (0.8") however the minimum size of the QR code will be dependent on:
- The distance between the QR code and the scanning device, and hence the size the code will appear to be in the viewport of the scanning device - if you have one on the side of a building it would need to be very large because it's going to be scanned from a long distance, however if it's printed in a magazine then the scanning device will be held quite close to it.
- The size of the dots in the code - As the data you put into a QR code increases, the number of dots that the QR codes needs to use to store that data increases accordingly. For a QR code of a given size this will result in progressively smaller dots being used and eventually they will reach a size that's below the resolution limit of the scanning device. As a general rule of thumb we recommend that your QR code should have no more than 50 rows and columns of dots to stay within the usual maximum resolution limits of most smartphone cameras.
Regardless of the size of the QR code, the finished QR code should be tested thoroughly in its intended final setting to make sure that it works at that size.
We've got a blog post about What Size Should A Printed QR Code Be?
Can I change the website URL in a QR code without changing the QR code image?
Since the QR code is a graphical representation of the data it contains, if you haven't used our URL shortener and have entered your own direct URL into the QR code instead, you will not be able to change the QR code contents without changing the QR code image.
By using our URL shortener, the short URL is what's actually "in" the QR code and our server then looks after re-directing the user to the website destination you want them to go to.
If you have used our URL shortener, and you are a subscriber, you can edit the destination URL of a shortened URL as often as you like.
Does the colour of the QR code affect it's reliability?
Yes. In a QR code the dark bits are always interpreted as data so the dots always need to be a darker colour than the background. The reliability of the QR code is also determined by the contrast difference between the dots and the background, so pale grey dots on a white background will be difficult for some scanning devices to read and the code may not function properly.
Short version: Choose whatever colours you want but always make sure the dots are a significantly darker colour than the background.
...and always test your QR code to make sure it works using the colours you've chosen.
Can I embed an image in a QR code?
QR codes have 30% error correction redundancy built into them so that theoretically up to 30% of the code image can be removed and replaced with an embedded image and the code "should" still function.
While it is possible to add an image inside the the QR code, reducing this 30% safety buffer moves the QR code closer to the point where it becomes potentially unstable and may not be readable in some lighting conditions, colours and display sizes. There are also some areas of the code that are more sensitive to change than other areas, so great care should be taken.
This can be further complicated if the scanning software interprets any part of the embedded image as actual data and decodes the QR code incorrectly.
Here's a few pointers on do's and don'ts:
- Keep the size of the embedded image well below 20% of the area of the QR code itself - 15% is probably the best compromise.
- Put the image in the middle of the QR code and definitely don't obscure any of the 3 big squares in the corners (they have a special purpose and must be retained).
- Always leave a white border (2-3 times the width of a single data square in the QR code image) all the way around the edge of the embedded image so that the data areas of the QR code are seperated from the image.
- Make sure that all the data squares left in the QR code are intact - remove any partially obscured squares completely.
- Check that the embedded image doesn't co-incidentaly contain any small square (or squarish) elements that may be interpreted by the scanning device as part of the QR code's data, rather than being ignored as part of the image.
- Most QR code scanning devices scan in grey-scale so using contrasting colours is not going to help you at all.
You will need to thoroughly test the QR code on multiple devices and scanning apps after you're done.
QRlicious offer a great service for anyone who wants to dress up a QR code with logo embedding, colours and custom design work.
What's with the white border around the QR code?
A "quiet zone" is placed around the QR code image when it's generated to separates the QR code from anything else in its surroundings. The quiet zone is used to buffer the code from its surroundings to prevent any adjacent images or text from being interpreted as part of the code image itself and interfering with the scanning of the code.
The size of the buffer zone is mathematically determined when the code is created to ensures an error free code. This buffer zone must be retained. It's simply a white space border and when you generate the code you will see that it's part of the actual code image.
The quiet zone is recommended to be a minimum of 4 times the width of a single data square in the code image, however depending on the surroundings of the code (ie; against an unpatterned dark background) you may be able to reduce that to 2 times pixel width.
If you reduce the size of the quiet zone, the finished QR code should be tested thoroughly in its intended final setting to make sure that it still scans correctly.
Uptime Service Guarantee
We guarantee that the QR Stuff server will be free from non-scheduled outages and downtime for at least 99.9% of any given 12 month period.
Since we started in January 2008 our uptime has actually been 99.972% including both scheduled maintenance and unscheduled server outages - that's less than 3 hours per year on average!
Unfortunately we can't be responsible for outages or circumstances beyond our control that prevent or limit access to QR Stuff server or website, either directly or indirectly, so our SLA does not include any of the following:
- Less than optimal network conditions between your ISP and our server resulting in packet loss
- DDoS or other malicious attacks on our server
- Connectivity issues within your ISP's network
- Browser or DNS caching issues
- Outages or interruptions from an upstream provider outside of our immediate hosting environment
We strive to keep service interruptions to a minimum and will always attempt to provide advance notice of any scheduled maintenance outage in the Notices section at the bottom of the front page of this website.
By taking up a paid subscription on the QR Stuff website you are acknowledging your acceptance of a minimum uptime service availablity of 99.9% in any given 12 month period.
Privacy Policy
We respect your privacy and are governed by National Privacy Principles of the federal Privacy Commissioner under the Privacy Act. Your information is only used for generating QR codes at your request, facilitating the transfer of information via the QR code that you have created, and for the effective conduct and operation of your subscription.
If any of your personal information is required to be stored on our servers, it will not be rented, sold or intentionally released to unrelated third parties, however we cannot be held responsible for the release of your personal information that is the direct result of you making publicly available the QR code that you have created, and that links to or contains your personal information.
Aggregated non-identifiable trend data sourced from user QR code creation and usage data may be published from time to time for planning and information purposes.
