Methodology
How we verify every code.
A QR code that looks like your picture is only worth printing if it scans. So every code you make from a picture is tested on real decoders under real-world conditions before you can download it, and you see the result first.
Reviewed by the AriaQR Team ·
What “verified” means
Verified means the code was read, reliably, by real decoders under real-world conditions, and that this happened before the download button appeared. It is a test of the actual code you generated, not of a similar one, and not of a sample from a batch.
The check runs on the site for every code, every time. You do not install anything and you do not need to gather other people’s phones. It covers a square code made from a photo and a poster with the code blended into it alike.
We publish the verdict and what to do with it, not the method. How each code is checked stays private on purpose.
What the verdicts mean
Verified
The code read reliably under the conditions it was tested under. This is the verdict you want for anything printed at the size you chose, from a poster to a table tent.
Scans up close only
The code reads when the phone is near it, but it did not hold up under the harder conditions. That suits a card in someone’s hand or a sticker on a laptop. It does not suit a shop window or a banner.
If a code does not pass, we say so plainly rather than hiding it, and you decide whether to go ahead. A different version of the image, a different crop, or a calmer spot for the code in a poster often moves the verdict, and each change is checked again.
Two builds, two sizes
The verdict belongs to the build you chose, because a code on a screen and a code on a business card face different problems.
| Build | Standard | Small print |
|---|---|---|
| Verified for | Screens and prints of 4 cm and up | Prints down to about 1.5 cm |
| Typical use | Posters, menus, packaging, signs, slides | Cards, labels, price tags, stickers |
Not sure which size the final print will be? Make both from the same image and keep the verdict for each.
When a code is checked again
- If you change the image, the crop or the build, the new code is verified from scratch. A verdict never carries over to a different code.
- If you restyle the eyes, dots or colors, the restyled code is checked again before you download it.
- After download the pattern of a printed code does not change, so there is nothing new to verify. What can change is where it points. Short links and free codes are checked against Google Safe Browsing every day, and you can get an alert if a destination stops working.
What verification does not promise
Verification is not a guarantee that every phone, in every light, at every angle will scan every print. Phones differ in camera quality and in how forgiving their scanner is, and a printed code can fail for reasons no screen can show: glossy laminate, glare, a curved bottle, a fold, ink that comes out lighter than it looked, or a code shrunk below the size it was made for.
What verification does do is catch a code that only just works, before you pay for a print run. It moves the discovery of a weak code from the field to the screen. It is a strong filter, and it is not a substitute for a proof.
A code is also only as good as its link. The camera can read it and the page behind it can still be gone, which looks like a scanning failure to the person holding the phone. That is why codes carry a link you can edit after printing.
How to test a code yourself
Do this before any run you cannot easily reprint. It takes ten minutes.
- Print one proof at the final size, on the final stock and finish, not on office paper.
- Scan it from where a real person will stand, not from a hand’s length, and in the light they will have.
- Use more than one phone, at least one iPhone and one Android, and try the scanner inside the apps your audience uses.
- Check the destination: the page should open fast on mobile data and look right on a small screen.
- Free tools help: the QR code tester checks an uploaded code image, and the size calculator gives a print size for any viewing distance.
If the proof fails, tell us at info@realityrift.co with the code and a photo of the print. A code that was verified and still fails in the field is the most useful report we get.
Questions about how your data is handled? See security and the privacy policy.