# WhatsApp QR codes for print

> Print a WhatsApp QR code on flyers, menus, packaging and signs that you can still update later, styled with your logo and counted apart from taps.

A QR code on a flyer, a menu, a box or the counter lets someone start a chat with you without typing a thing. Once it's printed you can't change it, so what it points to matters.

## Print a code you can update

Every wa.link comes with a QR code, free links included. A free link can't be edited, though: if your number changes, every code you printed keeps opening a chat with the old one.

A Premium Link's code points to your address, and you can change everything behind it: the number or username, the message, even whether it opens a chat, your catalog, a channel or a group. The printed code stays the same and keeps working. If you saved a free link to your account, upgrading it to Premium keeps its address, so the codes you already printed become editable too.

> [!WARNING]
> A printed code works while its link is published. If your subscription ends, the link becomes a draft and stops opening WhatsApp, and while it's a draft its address can be taken by someone else.

## Add your logo and colors

On your link's page, find the QR code in **Share Your Link** and select **Style**:

- **Upload logo** puts your logo in the center (PNG, JPEG, WEBP, GIF or SVG, under 350 KB). Adding one raises a Low or Medium **Scan strength** to **High**, so the code still scans with part of it covered.
- **Modules**, **Corner frames** and **Corner centers** change the shapes, and **Colors** sets each part and the **Background**.
- Select **Save QR code** to keep the style. Styling changes how the code looks, never where it goes.

[QR codes](https://walink.com/docs/qr-codes) covers every option.

## Send the right file

In the same panel, pick a **Download format** and a **Download size**, then select the download button, for example **Download SVG**.

| Format | Use it for                                                               |
| ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| SVG    | Printers and designers. A vector file stays sharp at any size.           |
| PNG    | When an image is required. Pick the largest **Download size** for print. |
| JPEG   | Tools that only accept JPEG.                                             |
| WEBP   | Web pages.                                                               |

## Size and contrast

Common rules for printed QR codes:

- Size: at least 2 cm (0.8 in) wide for anything held in the hand. For a sign, make the code about a tenth of the distance it's scanned from, so 30 cm (12 in) wide to scan from 3 m (10 ft).
- Contrast: dark modules on a light background. Light codes on dark backgrounds, and pale colors, scan badly on many phones.
- Margin: leave a blank border around the code, at least four modules wide, with nothing printed in it.
- Words: add a short line such as "Scan to chat on WhatsApp", and print your address under the code for anyone who'd rather type it.
- Test: scan a printed proof with an iPhone and an Android phone before you print the whole run.

## Scans counted apart

The code opens your link with `?source=qr` added, which is how Walink tells a scan from a tap. In the link's analytics, **QR Code Scans** and **Direct vs QR Scans** show how much of your traffic came from print. To compare one flyer with another, or the menu with the packaging, give each its own Premium Link.

For one code that serves several shifts or countries, print a [Smart Link](https://walink.com/docs/smart-links) code: a scan is routed like any other click, by business hours or by the visitor's country. A [form](https://walink.com/docs/forms) has its own code too, for a menu or counter that takes orders or bookings.