A contact QR code that still fits on the card
Type the details for your business card. See the vCard and MECARD versions side by side, what each line costs in squares, and whether the code fits on an 85 × 55 mm card, next to a short link to a contact page. Everything is drawn on this page; nothing you type is sent.
Address and note (each one makes the code bigger)
Does it fit on the card?
| What the code holds | Characters | Grid | Width for an easy scan | On an 85 × 55 mm card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 206 | 57 × 57 | 5.2 cm | Fits the corner printed small; hold the phone close | |
| 130 | 49 × 49 | 4.6 cm | Fits the corner printed small; hold the phone close | |
| Short link to a contact page | 23 | 25 × 25 | 2.6 cm | Fits a corner of the card |
Width includes the blank margin, for a card held about 20 cm from the phone (the 10:1 rule our size calculator uses). “Printed small” means 28 mm wide with squares of at least 0.4 mm, about the smallest a phone reads reliably from ordinary card printing; whoever scans it then has to hold the phone close.
- Start and version26
- Name (N and FN, both required)40
- Company23
- Job title13
- Mobile28
- Email33
- Website34
- End9
The text inside the code
BEGIN:VCARD VERSION:3.0 N:Whitfield;Dana;;; FN:Dana Whitfield ORG:Whitfield Joinery TITLE:Owner TEL;TYPE=CELL:+12125550147 EMAIL:dana@whitfieldjoinery.com URL:https://whitfieldjoinery.com END:VCARD
Which one to print
- vCard 3.0 is the format phones' contact apps are built around: name, company, title, typed phone numbers, email, website and a split address all have their own field. It's also the wordiest, so every line you add grows the grid.
- MECARD says the same in fewer characters, but has no job title and no phone types. Keep it for a name, a number and an email.
- A short link to a contact page is the smallest code and the only one you can change after printing: a new job title or number goes on the page, not on 500 cards. The page can offer the .vcf file as a download. The cost: the guest needs a connection, and the page has to stay up.
Whichever you pick, scan the printed proof with an iPhone and an Android phone and open the contact it makes: check the name order, the company and the number before you order the box. The full guide is A vCard QR code for a business card; to point a code at a contact page instead, make a short link and check the code with the QR checker.