Restaurant QR Code: Where to Place it, Size, and Printing

The QR code is the bridge between the table and your digital menu, and when it doesn't work, the customer won't try again: they'll call the waiter or, worse, order the usual thing without looking at anything. The good news is that making it work well is a matter of a few concrete precautions: size, material, position, and a proper test.

The Right Size

The practical rule is: never less than 3x3 centimeters for a scan at 30-40 cm distance, i.e., the typical distance between the phone and a table stand. If the QR code goes on a wall sticker or a glass sign read from farther away, increase the size: about one-tenth of the scanning distance. Always leave a white margin around the code — it's the so-called quiet zone, and without it, half of the phones struggle to read it.

What to Print it On

• Plastic or plexiglass stand: the standard solution, resistant to spilled glasses and detergent cleaning.
• Table sticker: convenient, but choose opaque stickers: glossy ones reflect the light from the spotlights and crash the camera.
• Paper placemats: they work, but the QR code should be in a corner that the plate doesn't cover.
• Avoid home prints on plain paper: after a week of service, they're illegible.

Where to Place it

One code per table, reachable without getting up or moving objects. At the entrance and in the window, a second QR code helps those who want to peek at the menu before sitting down — it's a small sales tool, not just a service tool. At the bar counter, put it near the cash register and at eye level. In outdoor seating areas, the discussion doubles: outdoor tables are the most inconvenient for staff to reach, and a well-placed QR code also works as an order collector, where the platform allows it. Finally, keep two or three spare copies in a drawer: they save the evening when a stand disappears.

The Most Common Mistakes

1. QR code printed too small on an elaborate design: beautiful, illegible.
2. Code pointing to a heavy PDF instead of a web page: ten seconds of loading and the customer gives up.
3. No testing with evening light: the venue is bright at lunch, not at 9 pm.
4. QR code remade with every menu change. With a real QR code menu, the code remains the same forever: the content of the page changes, not the code.

The Test Before Final Printing

Print a test copy, put it on the worst-lit table in the venue, and try it with an iPhone and an Android, in the evening, with a real customer's hand — not yours, which already knows where to frame it. If it passes this test, order the print for all tables. With Ordinami, the QR code is generated ready for printing, and you'll find the cost of the entire system on the pricing page: the typographical expense, once the stands are made, won't be repeated.