QR code for PDF catalogue on a printed card: it opens the file
A QR code for a PDF catalogue opens a web address where the file sits. It never holds the catalogue itself, so keep the PDF under 5 MB and print the code at least 25 mm wide on a hand-held card.
What a QR code for PDF catalogue use opens
A QR code for PDF catalogue use does one job. It opens a web address, and that address serves your catalogue file. The code never holds the catalogue. It holds a short line of text, and the phone follows it.
That matters for one reason. The scan is instant, but the download is not. The file at the far end of the code decides how the customer feels about your range. A 60 MB file on a weak signal feels broken, even when the code itself is perfect.
Take a common case. You hand out a printed trade card at a stall, or tuck one into every parcel. The card is 90 mm by 55 mm. The code sits on the back, with one line under it: "Scan for the full catalogue." This post is about making that line true within a few seconds.
Why file size decides the scan
Most people scan on mobile data, standing up, with one hand. They wait about five seconds. Then they give up or put the phone away.
Here is a rough guide for a phone on an ordinary mobile signal:
| PDF size | What the reader sees |
|---|---|
| Under 3 MB | The first page shows almost at once |
| 3 to 10 MB | A short wait and a loading bar |
| 10 to 30 MB | A long wait, and many close it |
| Over 30 MB | Often a stalled or failed download |
Aim for under 5 MB. Under 3 MB is better. A 24-page catalogue with one photo per product fits in that easily, once the photos are prepared well.
Getting the PDF down to size
A large catalogue is almost always large because of its photos. The text is tiny by comparison. Fix the photos and the file follows.
Start with the export setting. A phone screen does not need print resolution. Export photos at 150 pixels per inch, not 300. That alone often cuts the file to a quarter of its size.
Next, save the photos as compressed JPEG inside the PDF, at medium quality. Product shots still look clean on a phone at that level. Do not paste in full camera images and shrink them on the page. The full image travels inside the file, even when it looks small.
Then remove what you do not need. Delete hidden layers, spare pages and fonts you never used. Most design programs have an option to reduce file size or save for the web. Use it, then open the result on a phone and look at it.
If the catalogue still runs past 10 MB, split it. One file per range works well: one for tableware, one for linen, one for kitchen tools. Each file can have its own code, or one code can open a short page that lists all three.
Keep a separate print version at full resolution. The file behind the code is the screen version. They are two files with two jobs.
Where the file lives
The code opens an address, so the file needs a stable home. Put it at an address you control, such as a page on your own website. Avoid share links that expire after a few days or ask the reader to sign in. A login screen after a scan loses most readers.
Name the file plainly, in lower case with hyphens, such as catalogue-winter.pdf. Keep the same address each time you update it, or use a dynamic code so the address can change behind the print.
If you want the catalogue to sit beside a listing on another channel, tell us where you sell and we will suggest the right code type.
Printing the code on the catalogue card
Size the code for the distance it will be scanned from. A simple rule works: the side of the code should be at least one tenth of the scanning distance.
A trade card is held about 0.25 m from the phone, so a 25 mm code is plenty. A counter stand read from 1 m needs a 100 mm code. A poster at the stall entrance, read from 2 m, needs 200 mm.
Leave a clear margin round the code. About 4 mm is right on a card, and more on larger prints. Text or a border pressed against the edge stops many phones from finding the code.
Keep the address short. A short address makes a code with fewer, larger squares, and those scan more easily at small sizes. A dynamic code helps here as well, because it always opens a short address.
Print a test card before the full run. Scan it with two or three different phones, in normal room light, from where a customer would stand.
Contrast and colour
Put a dark code on a light ground. Black or dark navy on white or cream scans well. A light code on a dark card fails on many phones. Pale grey on white fails too.
Brand colours are fine as long as the code stays clearly darker than its background. Avoid glossy foil under the code, because light bouncing off it hides the squares. A matte finish on that corner of the card is safer. You can try colours and shapes in the QR colours and shapes preview before you order.
Changing the catalogue without reprinting
Catalogues change every season. Ranges end and new lines arrive. A printed card lasts much longer than that.
A static code opens one fixed address for good. If that file moves, every card you printed opens nothing. A dynamic code opens a short address that we point at your file. When the new catalogue is ready, you re-point the code to the new file. The 500 cards already in customers' hands now open the new catalogue, and nothing is reprinted.
You can compare static and dynamic codes on the QR code prices page, with GST shown upfront.
Two habits keep this tidy. Keep last season's file online for a few weeks after you re-point, for anyone who saved the old link. And print the season on the first page of the PDF, so readers know they have the current one.
To order a dynamic code for your catalogue card, pick one from the QR codes for every job and point it at your PDF.