How to print QR code stickers at home: label paper, printer settings and cutting

Birch & Wick, a small candle workshop, needs stickers for 30 jars. Each sticker has a caption with the candle name and a QR code that links to the candle care page. For 30 stickers a print shop is not worth it. An inkjet printer at home and 2 sheets of label paper are enough.

The generator lays out the sheet with a grid of codes, captions and cut marks. The paper, the tray, the print scale and the cutting are up to you, and a mistake in any of them can spoil a sheet.

Label paper: full sheet, matte, for your printer

For QR code stickers, buy full-sheet label paper in A4 (21×29.7 cm) or US Letter (8.5×11 in). It is one adhesive sheet on a backing, with no shapes cut into it. Label paper is made either for laser or for inkjet printers, so buy the kind that matches yours. Pick matte, because glossy label paper reflects ceiling lamps, and you have to tilt the phone to read the code.

Skip die-cut label sheets, the ones with labels already cut on the backing. Plain office paper, 80 g/m² (20 lb), is cheaper than label paper and works if you stick the printed code on with clear tape. For boxes in a storeroom or labels on cables, taped paper is enough.

The list and the sheet

On the "Links" tab, type one line per sticker: the link, a space and the caption. For Birch & Wick the line is https://example.com/care Soy candle 12. The link goes into the code, and the caption prints under it. A sticker does not need a link, and the "Text", "Wi-Fi" and "Contact card" tabs print the same grid.

A phone reads a 2 cm (about 0.8 in) or 2.5 cm (about 1 in) code on a jar held in the hand, from 20–25 cm (about 8–10 in). A 3 cm (about 1.2 in) code fits a longer caption than a 2 cm one. A caption can be up to 100 characters, but only part of it shows under the code: 12 characters at 2 cm, 15 at 2.5 cm and 17 at 3 cm. The rest becomes an ellipsis. "Soy candle 12" has 13 characters, and Birch & Wick picks 3 cm so that names of up to 17 characters show in full.

At 3 cm with captions, both A4 and Letter take 20 stickers, so the 30 jars need 2 sheets. At 2 cm with captions, the 30 stickers fit on 1 sheet of A4 (35) or Letter (30), but "Soy candle 12" loses its last character. The preview shows the number of sheets as you set the sticker size for your paper. For 4 cm and other sizes, see the grids of both paper formats.

Frame and cut marks in "Fine tuning"

Open "Fine tuning" in "Step 2 · Look and size". The margin and the gap are in the "Margins" group: "Margin at the sheet edges (cm):" and "Gap between codes (cm):". The "Frame" group sets "Gap between the frame and the code (cm):", "Frame corner radius (mm):" and "Frame thickness (mm):". With "around the code" in "Frame placement:", the caption stays below the frame, and with "code and caption", it goes inside. Pick "no frame" to keep only the gap.

Turn on "Cut marks" to get short ticks at the corners of every cell, one cell per sticker. Cut marks need a gap of at least 0.5 cm and a margin of at least 0.25 cm. The default gap is 0.6 cm and the default margin is 1.7 cm, so the defaults work.

At the sides the marks line up with the frame, and at the bottom they sit below the caption. A cut along the marks therefore leaves the quiet zone, the blank space between the code and the frame, on the sticker. The camera needs a quiet zone 4 modules wide. For a short link at 2 cm that is 3.2 mm, and the default gap between the frame and the code, 0.3 cm, is close to it. At 3 cm the same 4 modules are 4.8 mm. A wider "Gap between the frame and the code (cm):" gives the full quiet zone, and the preview shows how many stickers the sheet loses because of it.

Printer settings: tray, 100% and a test sheet

Label paper can jam in a narrow tray. If your printer has a rear feed with a straight paper path, put the label paper there. In the print dialog set the scale to 100% ("Actual size") and turn off "Fit to page". Then measure one code with a ruler. A 2 cm code that measures 1.9 cm means the dialog is still scaling.

Print and check one sheet before the rest, the same pilot step as in printing a run of 100 stickers. Scissors are enough for one or two sheets. For a stack of sheets, a paper trimmer is faster than scissors and cuts straight. With daily printing, cutting turns into a separate task.

The same list makes the same codes, so the codes on a reprint next month match the ones already on the jars. If your printer is out of ink, a copy shop can print the same PDF at 100%.

Stickers that survive water, cold and sun

Inkjet print on paper labels is for indoor use, and candle jars on a shelf are indoors. Waterproof QR code stickers for outdoors, a fridge, a freezer or a kitchen need film label paper and a laser printer. Then cover each sticker with clear tape or laminate the sheet.

Labels from a direct thermal printer do not last there either. They come off in the cold and fade in the sun.

When a sheet is the wrong tool

A thermal label printer prints on a roll. A common label size is 58×40 mm (about 2.3×1.6 in). Each label comes out on its own as you pack an order, and nothing needs cutting. Such a printer suits a steady flow, such as 200 stickers a day. For a one-off print run or a small weekly stock, print on sheets. A thermal label also fades from heat.

The generator lays out A4, A3, A5, A6 and Letter sheets, not roll labels. For signs on tables, see a Wi-Fi sign for each table. Other print jobs are in the printing guides in the knowledge base.

FAQ

Next step

Print one sheet of label paper at 100% and scan a code from each row. If every code reads on the first try, the printer is fine for stickers.

Make a sheet of QR code stickers with captions and cut marks for A4 or US Letter label paper.