A restaurant prints "Table 14" as a QR code in the corner of each table, so staff can scan the table number instead of typing it. That is a text QR code: 8 bytes, the smallest 21 by 21 grid, and no link anywhere. The words sit in the pattern itself, so a phone reads them without a connection or a website. Serial numbers, asset tags, a line of instructions and a short note all work the same way.
What a phone does with it. It shows the text. The generator adds no prefix, and a prefix is what tells a scanner to open a browser, a mail app or the dialler. How the text is shown, and whether there is a copy button, depends on the scanning app.
How much fits. The code stores text as UTF-8 bytes, and the generator counts it the same way. Plain letters and digits take one byte each, an accented letter such as é takes two, and most emoji take four; a thumbs-up with a skin tone takes eight. At error correction M, the default, the sizing panel covers up to 666 bytes, a 97 by 97 grid that needs at least 42mm of print width. Past that the code still draws, but the panel says it is too long to print sensibly. Choosing L raises that to 858 bytes, with less protection against damage.
Before you use it:
- Anyone can read it. The text is not hidden or encrypted. Keep passwords and anything you would not print on the label itself out of it. For a Wi-Fi password, the Wi-Fi QR code generator lets guests join without typing it, though anyone who decodes the code can still read it.
- It can't be edited. The words are the pattern, so a correction means a new code and a reprint.
- A web address belongs in Link. A URL typed here makes the same code as the Link option, but Link checks the address is complete and tells you whether its scans could be counted. It is also the only mode where UTM tags mean anything: build the tagged address in the UTM builder first, then paste it into Link.
Printing it. Short text makes a small code. The minimum width for "Table 14" works out to 11.6mm, so a 20mm label has room to spare. A paragraph grows fast, so set the print width in the panel before you design around the code, and keep the Square pattern for labels that stay in use for years. QR code best practices for print covers contrast and finish. Before printing, drop the PNG into the QR code reader, which labels the result as plain text and shows every character.