A QR code that won't scan costs more than a paper menu: the guest tries, fails, and calls you over. Here are the practical rules that prevent that.
Size: the 1-in-10 rule
The field rule is simple: the code's width should be about one tenth of the reading distance. A guest scans from roughly 25 cm above the table, so a 2.5–3 cm code works. For a window poster read from 2 metres, you need 20 cm.
In practice, on a table, never go below 2.5 cm. Older phones and scratched lenses need the margin.
The white margin is not optional
A QR code needs a quiet zone around it — an empty margin about four modules wide. This is the most common mistake: running the code to the edge of a table tent, or wrapping it in a decorative frame. The reader can no longer find its anchors and gives up.
Contrast: dark on light, never the reverse
Readers expect dark modules on a light background. A white code on black works on some phones and fails on others. Avoid placing a code over a photograph too: local contrast varies and scanning becomes a coin toss.
The glossy lamination trap
This is the most underestimated problem. Glossy laminate under a spotlight throws light straight back into the lens: the code becomes unreadable even though it printed perfectly. Choose matte lamination, or no lamination at all.
Same logic for cards slipped under a glass tabletop: condensation and reflections are enough to break the scan.
Placement
- Centre of the table, not the edge where elbows land.
- Flat or on a tilted stand, never vertical behind an object.
- Not next to a candle: a moving flame creates moving glare.
Write what it is next to it
A bare black square gets ignored. Three words are enough: “Our menu”, “Scan to order”, “Menu and allergens”. Scan rates change dramatically depending on whether there's a sentence or not.
Test before printing in bulk
Print one, then test it: with a recent phone, with a phone over five years old, and above all in the evening, under your service lighting. Most failures happen in low light, not in daylight.
Only reprint when the card is damaged
With Modern Resto the link behind the QR never changes, even if you rewrite the entire menu. So you only reprint when the card is scratched, stained or faded — never because the menu changed. That's the whole point: paper becomes a wear item, not an update item.
The QR downloads and prints straight from your dashboard, A4, ready to cut.