QR code event ticket: one code that opens each guest's entry page

What a QR code event ticket opens

A QR code event ticket has a small printed square on it. The square holds a short web address and nothing more. When someone scans it, the phone opens a page. On a ticket, that page is the guest's own entry page. It shows the name on the booking, the seat or zone, the gate and the entry time.

The printed object here is the ticket. It might be a card ticket, a paper tag on a wristband or a stub torn off at the door. The code does not hold the seat, the payment or the guest list. It opens the page where those details live. This matters because you can change the page and keep the ticket.

One code per ticket, not one per event

Some hosts print the same code on every ticket. That code opens one page, usually the event details. That works on a poster. It is no use at the gate, because every ticket scans the same.

For entry, give each ticket its own code. Ticket 1 opens page 1, ticket 2 opens page 2, and so on. The gate team can see which ticket is in their hand and mark it as in. If the same ticket is scanned again, the page shows that it has already come through. A photocopy opens the same page as the original, so that 'already in' line is what catches it.

Print a short ticket reference beside the code, such as B-0417. A letter and four digits is enough for most events. Staff can read it out or type it in if a code gets torn.

Sizing the code on the ticket

A standard card ticket is about 150 × 55 mm. Leave room for a code at least 25 × 25 mm. Add a clear margin of 3 mm on every side. That margin is called the quiet zone. Keep text, borders and perforations out of it.

A rough rule is that the code should be about a tenth as wide as the scanning distance. At the gate, a phone is held 0.15 to 0.25 metres from the ticket. So a code of 20 to 25 mm is plenty. A wristband tag is smaller. An 18 mm code still works at 0.15 metres if the print is sharp.

If the ticket tears, put the code on the stub side. Keep it at least 10 mm from the tear line, so a rough tear does not clip a corner.

Do not fold through the code. A crease across the square can stop a scan. If the ticket goes in an envelope, fold it on the blank side.

Contrast and paper

Print the code dark on light. Black or deep navy on white or cream is the safe choice. Keep the light part truly light. A pale grey code on mid-grey card will scan slowly, if at all.

Keep foil, gloss film and metallic ink away from the code. Under gate lights or a phone torch they throw back glare. Matt card of 300 to 350 gsm works well.

Never print the code over a photo or a pattern. If the ticket design is busy, give the code its own plain white box. You can try colours and shapes on the QR colour and shape preview before the print run. Keep the three corner squares solid and dark.

Thermal paper fades in heat and sun. If the box office prints tickets on a thermal roll, ask guests to keep them out of a hot car.

The scan at the gate

The guest holds out the ticket with the code facing up. A staff member scans it with a phone from 0.15 to 0.25 metres away. The phone opens the ticket's page. The staff member checks the name and the zone, marks the ticket as in, and waves the guest through.

A clean scan and check takes about four seconds. One lane can handle around fifteen guests a minute, or close to 900 an hour. If 2,000 guests arrive in the last hour before doors, open three lanes and keep a fourth phone spare.

Light the gate well. A lamp above each lane helps more than a brighter phone screen. Keep a printed list of ticket references at each lane for torn or wet tickets.

Test before doors open. Scan ten tickets from the real print run, at the real gate, under the real lights. Fix any problem with size or contrast then, not when the queue has formed.

When the plan changes after printing

Events move. A gate closes, a start time shifts, two zones are merged. With a dynamic code, the address inside the square stays the same. You re-point where it leads, and the printed tickets keep working.

So point each code at a page you can edit, not at a fixed file. If the venue changes, update the page. If you move to a new entry system, re-point the codes to it. The tickets in guests' pockets do not need a reprint.

Tickets shown on a phone

Many guests show the ticket on a screen. The same code works there. Ask them to turn the brightness up before they reach the gate. Some phones in dark mode show the code light on dark, and older phones can struggle to read that. Send the ticket as an image with a white background to avoid it.

Cracked screens are the usual trouble. Print the ticket reference in large text under the code, so staff can look it up by hand.

If your tickets are sold through a booking service, tell us where you sell and we will explain how your codes fit beside theirs.

Counting the codes

Order one code per ticket, plus about 5% spare for reprints and test scans. For 400 tickets, that is 420 codes. Send the printer a sheet with one row per ticket: the reference and its code image. Ask for a proof of the first page before the full run, and scan every code on that proof.

Code prices, with GST shown, are on the pricing page.

To order codes for your event tickets, choose the dynamic type on the QR code types page and tell us how many tickets you are printing.