QR codes for trades and contractors
Vehicle graphics readable from another lane, invoice codes that get you paid, and review codes for after the job.
For trades, the vehicle is the billboard, and a van code is the hardest QR code to get right: read from several metres by someone with a few seconds at a traffic light, it has to be large, high-contrast, and on a flat panel rather than a curved one. It should also start a phone call rather than open a website. A person scanning a van wants to call you, and a phone code removes a step at the exact moment intent is highest. After the job, a review code on the invoice catches the customer while they are satisfied and already holding your document.
Start here
What works here
- Vehicle codes are the hardest case
- A code on a van is read from several metres, often by someone stationary in traffic for a few seconds. It needs to be large, high contrast, and on a flat panel rather than a curved one.
- A phone code beats a website code on a vehicle
- Someone who scans a van wants to call you. A code that starts the call removes a step at exactly the moment intent is highest.
- Put the review code on the invoice
- The job is finished, the customer is satisfied, and they are already looking at a document from you. It is the best moment you will get.
- High contrast beats a branded colour on a van
- A code has to be darker than its background by a wide margin to scan reliably at distance, in daylight and at dusk. Black on white reads; your brand's mid-tone blue on a dark wrap often does not. Scanlight checks the contrast against a print threshold, not a screen one, and warns you before you commit it to a wrap.
Sizes for where you print
Every generator page calculates the exact size from your code’s density. These are the placements that matter for trades and contractors.
- Vehicle graphicsFrom another vehicle or the kerb · about 3m
- Invoice or receiptHeld while reading · about 0.3m
- Business cardHeld in the hand · about 0.2m
Common questions
- How big should a QR code be on a van or work vehicle?
- Large: a van code is read from several metres, so allow at least one centimetre of width per 25cm of distance and round up, because the reader is often moving. On a typical van panel that means a code of 15cm square or more. Place it on a flat panel, not a curved one, and keep high contrast. Every generator page computes the size from the distance you enter.
- Should a vehicle QR code call me or open my website?
- Call you. Someone who scans a van in traffic wants to reach you, not browse. A phone QR code starts the call with your number already dialled, removing the step where most of that intent is lost. Save the website code for flyers and cards, where people have time to read.
- Why does my QR code fail to scan on the vehicle wrap?
- Usually one of three things: it is too small for the distance, it is on a curved panel that distorts the pattern, or the contrast is too low because it is printed in a brand colour rather than near-black on a light background. Scanlight decodes the finished code and checks its print contrast before you download, which catches the last two before they reach the wrap.