How to put a QR code in a brochure

You can put a QR code straight into a brochure in Layout by Zaweba with Object > Insert > QR code. The code is drawn as vector art in the frame, so it prints crisp at any size, and it takes the frame's fill colour, which means it can be any swatch or spot ink you already use. There's no separate generator to visit and no picture file to place and keep track of.

That matters more than it sounds. A QR code saved as a small picture from a website often looks soft when it's enlarged, and it arrives in whatever colour the site chose. Made inside the layout, it belongs to the document like any other frame.

What the QR code can hold

The QR tool covers the jobs a brochure usually needs. A web link is the common one, sending a reader from the printed page to a booking form or a fuller product page. It can also hold plain text, an SMS, an email, a contact card, Wi-Fi details, a phone number or a map location. A contact card is handy on the back panel of a company brochure, and a map code suits an event leaflet where people need to find the venue.

Pick the kind first, then fill in the details it asks for. If you change your mind later, or the web address changes before the job goes to print, double-click the code to edit it. The frame stays where it is on the page, so the rest of the design doesn't move.

Step by step

Open your brochure and go to the page where the code should sit. Choose Object > Insert > QR code, choose what it should contain and type in the link or details. The code appears in a frame you can move and scale like any other.

Next, set its colour. Because the code is drawn in the frame's fill colour, select the frame and choose a swatch. A dark brand colour usually works well. If the brochure is printed with a spot ink, you can use that ink for the code too, and it will separate onto that plate rather than being built from process colours.

Then place it with care. Give it a clear area of plain background around all four sides, keep it away from folds and trims, and make sure it isn't sitting over a busy photograph. Smart guides and the Align panel help you line it up with text columns or a panel's edge.

Making sure it scans

Contrast is what a phone camera needs. Dark code on a light background is the safe choice; a pale code on a pale tint is the classic way to make one that never scans. If your brand colour is light, keep the code in a deeper swatch and use the brand colour elsewhere.

Size it so a person can scan it comfortably at arm's length from the folded brochure. Small codes in a corner tend to fail on cheaper phones. Before you export, print a proof on an office printer and test it with two or three different phones. It takes a minute and saves a reprint.

Put a short line of text near the code saying what it does, such as "Book a table" or "See the full menu". People are far more likely to scan something when they know where it leads, and the text helps anyone whose phone won't cooperate.

Several codes, or one per copy

A brochure for several branches might want a different code on each panel. Insert one, style it, then copy it and double-click each copy to change its content, so they all share the same colour and size.

If you need a different code for every record, such as personalised mailers or event passes, Layout's data merge can take QR and barcode fields from a spreadsheet or CSV file. That's a bigger job than a single brochure, but it's there when a print run needs it.

Checking before it goes out

When the brochure is finished, Layout by Zaweba exports print-ready PDFs with press presets, crop and bleed marks and spot inks kept, so the vector code arrives at the printer exactly as you drew it. Live preflight keeps an eye on the rest of the document while you work, so problems such as missing pictures or text that doesn't fit are pointed out before you send the file.

A QR code made this way is just another object in the layout. It moves with the design, takes your colours and can be fixed in seconds when a link changes late in the day.