Posters · Glossary
Should a research poster have a QR code?
Usually yes on a printed poster, linking to the full paper, preprint, protocol, data or a contact page. It lets a visitor take the study with them. Print it at least 2.5 centimetres square with a clear margin. The A0 layouts here carry no QR slot, so on this builder you print the link as text instead.
Most people who stop at a poster leave before the presenter reaches them, and the code is the only part of the board that goes home with them. A working link turns a brief glance into a download, a citation or an email weeks after the session has closed.
Indunil Asanka · Co-founder
5 min read · Published
| Decision | What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| What to link | A stable page you control: the paper's DOI, a preprint, a project page, or a page listing data, supplementary figures and contact details | The board cannot be edited once printed, so the destination must outlive the conference |
| How big | At least 1 by 1 inch (2.5 by 2.5 centimetres), larger for long links, with a clear margin four modules wide | SPIE asks for at least 1 inch so scanners read it from a distance; DENSO WAVE specifies the four module quiet zone |
| Where | In the title band or at the foot of the conclusion, at a height a standing reader can reach with a phone | Readers look for it where the study begins or where it ends |
| Label | A few words saying where it goes, such as Full paper and data | An unlabelled code asks people to trust it blind |
What the code is for
A poster is a summary, and its limits are physical: about a thousand words, a few figures and three or four references. The code is how everything else stays one step away. The best targets are things a serious reader would otherwise have to email for: the full paper or preprint, the protocol or registration record, the dataset, analysis code, extra figures and the complete reference list. Colin Purrington's poster advice also suggests codes that open online media, such as a recorded walkthrough of the work, for visitors who arrive while the presenter is away. One code with one well organised landing page beats several codes.
How a QR code works, and why size matters
A QR code stores data in a grid of dark and light squares called modules. DENSO WAVE, which developed the format, publishes 40 versions of increasing size and capacity, and describes an error correction feature that lets a partly smeared or damaged code still be read. Two practical rules follow from its guidance. A code needs a quiet zone, a clear margin four modules wide on every side. And a longer link needs more modules, so at the same printed size each module is smaller and harder to read from a distance. A short link therefore scans more reliably than a long tracking address.
When a code is not worth it
A code that points at nothing useful is worse than none. If the paper is unpublished and there is no preprint, data or protocol to share, a contact page or institutional profile is still worth linking, but a code to a university home page is not. Some conferences restrict promotional content on scientific posters, so check the rules if the destination sells anything. A code is also no substitute for the finding: if the key result only exists behind the link, most visitors will never see it. The board still has to make its point without a phone, with the code as a bonus for the few who want more.
Mistakes that break the link
Using a free generator that wraps the link in its own short address, which later expires or starts showing ads, is the most painful, because the board is already printed. Linking a file in a personal cloud folder that needs a sign in is next. Printing the code too small, or on a busy coloured background with no margin, is third. Placing it low on a landscape board, where people must crouch, is fourth. The fix for all of them is the same: test the printed proof with two or three different phones, from a normal standing distance, before the full size print is ordered. Scan it again after any late edit to the link, because a changed address means a new pattern.
Where it stands in the poster builder
None of the 40 A0 poster layouts carries a QR slot, and there is no QR tile in the Add items panel, so a board made here cannot hold a scannable code. Print the link as text instead: a short address in the title band or beside the references reads from a metre away and can be typed by anyone whose phone will not scan. Keep it on a domain you control so the destination can be updated after the conference, and use a text block from the Add items panel if the layout has no spare line for it.
What to put on the landing page
Treat the destination as the poster's back cover. At the top, the title and authors so a visitor knows they reached the right place. Then the links in the order people want them: full text or preprint, a PDF of the poster itself, data and code, and extra figures. Then contact details for the presenting author. Keep it light enough to load on conference wifi. If the paper is published later, update this page rather than reprinting anything, which is the main reason to link a page you control instead of a file.
Questions people ask
Should I add a short link under the code as well?
Yes, and on a board made here the short link is the only route, because the layouts carry no code. Some visitors will not scan codes on principle, some phones struggle in dim halls, and a photograph of the board taken for later reading may blur a code. Keep the address genuinely short, such as a lab domain with a brief path, not a long string of characters.
Can I track how many people scanned it?
You can, by linking a page whose visits you can count or by adding a campaign parameter to the address. Be careful with third party dynamic code services that redirect through their servers, since they can expire or change terms after the conference. If counts matter, use analytics on a page you control rather than relying on the code provider.
What colour should the code be?
Dark modules on a light background with strong contrast are the safe choice. Inverted codes, light on dark, and low contrast brand colours fail on some scanning apps. If the poster has a coloured band, place the code on a white or very light patch with its full margin around it, rather than directly on the colour.
Can a QR code link to a video of me presenting?
Yes, and it suits sessions where you cannot stand at the board the whole time. Keep the video short, two or three minutes, host it somewhere that will not expire, and check the conference allows recorded material. Mention on the board that the code opens a talk, so visitors know to find headphones or watch later.
Does the code need to meet accessibility rules?
The code itself is visual, so pair it with the short printed link for people who cannot scan it, and make sure the landing page works with screen readers. Any extra figures on that page need text descriptions. A presenter can also offer to email the materials, which covers visitors who do not use smartphones at all.
Can a board carry two links?
It can, and it is worth doing when they go to different places, such as the paper and the dataset. Label each one so a visitor knows which is which. On these layouts both are printed as text rather than as codes, so keep them short and set them on separate lines.
Make one with posters
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match your own.
Create a poster with OneCraftRelated questions
- What is a poster handout?What is a poster handout: a small printed version or one page summary of a research poster for visitors to take away. Handout vs QR code vs email list.
- What is a DOI?What is a DOI: a permanent identifier for a paper, dataset or other object that resolves to its current location. DOI vs URL vs ISBN, and DOIs on posters.
- What is a poster session?What is a poster session: a conference slot where researchers stand beside their boards and discuss the work. What to prepare, board sizes and how to talk.
- What is a preprint?What is a preprint: a complete research paper shared publicly before peer review. Preprint vs published version vs postprint, and how to cite one on a poster.
Step by step in the builder: Choose the template, theme and size.
Written and checked by the OneCraft team. Last checked .