PostEaseThe short answer
Point the QR code at your link-in-bio page, not at one profile or one product. The page holds every link you want people to find, so one printed code keeps working when your links change: you edit the page, and the code on the poster, the business card or the packaging still lands in the right place.
Then keep it scannable. DENSO WAVE, the company that invented the QR code, says a code needs a four-module-wide margin on all sides, and that error correction level M (15%) is the one most often chosen. Keep the code dark on a light background, leave that margin clear, and test it with two or three phones before you print a batch.
Profile codes and page codes are different things
Instagram’s Help Center describes a QR code for your Instagram profile: tap Share profile below your bio, and you can switch its colour, an emoji design or a selfie sticker. That code opens one Instagram profile. It is the right code when the goal is a follow on Instagram.
A link-in-bio code opens a page you own, which can then send people to every channel, your shop, your booking calendar and your newsletter. It is the right code when the poster or card has to serve more than one goal, or when the person scanning may not use the app.
| Goal of the scan | Code to print | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A follow on one app | That app’s profile code | Opens the profile inside the app, one tap from Follow |
| Several channels at once | Link-in-bio page code | One page lists every channel |
| A sale, booking or signup | Link-in-bio page code | The first link on the page can be the offer |
| Printed matter that lasts months | Link-in-bio page code | You change the page, not the print |
| Someone without the app | Link-in-bio page code | A web page opens in any phone browser |
How to make one, step by step
Any QR generator works if it encodes your page’s address exactly. The steps below are the same everywhere; the last paragraph says how PostEase does them.
- Copy your link-in-bio page’s address. Use the short, final address, not a tracking redirect that might expire.
- Make the code from that address, dark on light.
- Leave the quiet zone: four modules of empty background on every side, as DENSO WAVE specifies.
- Download it as SVG for print, since SVG stays sharp at any size, or as a large PNG for screens and slides.
- Scan the printed proof with more than one phone, at the distance people will stand, before printing the full run.
Styling without breaking the scan
Rounded dots, rounded corners, brand colours and a picture in the middle all scan, within limits. The limits come from how scanners find a code: the three corner squares mark its position, the margin separates it from the background, and error correction rebuilds the parts a logo hides.
DENSO WAVE lists four error correction levels: L restores about 7% of the code, M about 15%, Q about 25% and H about 30%. It notes that Q or H suits dirty factory settings, and that a higher level makes the code larger for the same data. A picture over the middle hides part of the code on purpose, so it needs the higher level.
| Level | Share of the code that can be restored | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| L | About 7% | Clean settings and a lot of data |
| M | About 15% | The level most often chosen |
| Q | About 25% | Dirty or rough settings |
| H | About 30% | Dirty settings, or a picture covering part of the code |
Printing checklist
Most codes that fail on paper fail for one of these reasons:
| Problem | What happens | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Low contrast brand colours | The camera cannot separate modules | Darken the code colour or lighten the background |
| Margin cropped by a design | The code blends into the artwork | Keep four modules of clear background on every side |
| Small PNG stretched for print | Blurred module edges | Use the SVG, or a PNG at least as large as the print |
| Address points at an old page | The scan lands on a dead link | Encode the page that you keep up to date |
How PostEase does it
In PostEase, the Share your page section of Link in bio shows your page’s short address with a QR code for it, made in your browser. Download QR (SVG) saves the vector file for print, and Download QR (PNG) saves a 1,024-pixel image. Style the QR code offers square, rounded or dot modules, square or rounded corners, your page’s colours when they are dark enough against light to scan, and your picture in the middle.
The code keeps the four-module quiet zone and uses error correction M. With your picture in the middle it switches to H, keeps the picture under a fifth of the code’s width, and keeps the corner squares square, because rounded corners with a picture failed to scan at large sizes in testing. Colours are held at a contrast of at least 7:1, dark on light. The page itself is free on every plan.
Questions
Sources
- DENSO WAVE, Error correction feature, checked November 2026.
- DENSO WAVE, Information capacity and versions of the QR Code: how to make a QR Code, checked November 2026.
- Instagram, Find and customize the QR code of your Instagram profile, checked November 2026.