QR Codes
QR Codes on Metal Cards
Any cellphone camera instantly scans a QR code. Use your Metal Business Card to give them all your contact details!
QR codes have become more and more popular in today’s society – making it easier to provide your clients with more information or details about your company or product. You’ve probably used a QR code recently to scan a menu at a restaurant, order beers at a brewery, enter a giveaway or even download an app. And sure enough, Metal Kards have been used to print QR codes for all these types of events with our customers.
You can’t just pull out a piece of paper and have someone scan your QR code – even in the digital age, people still expect to get a nice business card they can hold in their hands. But business cards can only hold so much information about you or your company. For example, if you are a realtor, your business card can not hold and keep an updated list of all of your listings. And that is where the QR code comes in! They give your card more capabilities, where you can setup giveaways, trade contact details, or direct customers to a special part of your website or social media for things like your real estate listings of all your properties.
How does a QR code work? read on to find out!
So, what exactly is a QR code?
A Quick Response Code (or QR code) is a two-dimensional barcode that contains information about the product it is associated with – such as a menu, website, social media account, etc. At it’s core, it’s the same as a UPC bar code, but it can contain much more data! They can be printed on almost anything and quickly scanned by smartphones.
How will my clients access QR code information?
Easy! Open the smartphone’s camera and point it at the QR code to scan. Your clients can now easily access more information about you or your product.
Any cellphone made within the last few years, in Android and iOS, will work with a QR code 99% of the time. For the most success, we recommend linking your QR code to one of the following details:
- This works on both Android® and iPhone®
- vCard – instantly adding your contact information into your client’s phone
- Website
- Social media outlets such as Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook
- Small company biography, showroom or portfolio
- Specific product information
- Restaurant or Bar menus
- Special offers, discounts, or giveaways
- Property listings
What Can You Program on a QR Code:
- URL or Hyperlink – The most popular option, great for going to your website, menu, or even a staff page for the employee on the card. While usually not a problem, the user would need wifi/cell service to load.
- vCard Contact Details – This is the second most popular option, that will add to a phone’s address book. It can only contain the most popular fields – including mobile phone, home phone, company phone, fax, email, title, first name, last name, job title, website, company, and address. The down side is it cannot contain social media handles that are not standard vCard fields. This option does not require internet.
- Wifi – A common and easy to use way to get on your wifi network
- Location – Quickly scan to pull up on your phone Maps app
- Phone – A fast way to have someone call a number of your choosing
- SMS – Have users create a text to a number, and you can write the default message
- Email – Pull up their default email app to send a message. Specify the email address to, the subject, and the message text as needed.
- Text – Have a complete message typed, up to a 1000 characters
- Social Media – Many times, networks will create a code for you and it may have additional items like a photo, but often it will just go to the URL of your page. In some, like WhatsApp, Skype, and Zoom it can join a specific room or send a message like the SMS feature.
- Event – You can use a QR code so that it adds a specific event to the customers address book, including Title, Location, Start and End Time, Reminder, URL Link, and Notes
- Paypal / Bitcoin / Venmo – There are getting to be more and more “specific” functions a QR code can do, generally with the assistance of a specific app. Multiple apps may work with something like bitcoin while some services like Venmo would only work within their app.
Use your cellphone to scan these demo QR Codes:
At MetalKards, our design team can add any QR code to your metal business card – whether you have a code already or need our team to generate one. Done with silkscreen prints or laser etched to get the best contrast, we can help give your card more functionality. And if you are really looking to stand out, we can change up the shape or add your logo to the code. What’s next? Get our free samples or get a free estimate .
Make it more than a business card – make it functional with QR codes on metal cards.
Metal business cards with QR codes let you provide your clients with more ways to get to know you…
We get asked all the time, do the QR codes work on metal business cards? The answer is yes, absolutely! More than ever, and on any of our finishes. The best results we will absolutely recommend on any project, as a guideline make all QR codes at least 0.5″ or 13mm x 13mm large if they are a short URL under 25 characters. When using a more complex URL that is 25-40 characters, we recommend 0.75″ or 19mm to ensure compatibility with more devices.
When working with a very complex url over 40 characters, or things like vCard address book contacts – making it larger to 1″ x 1″ or 25mm may be required. At it’s core, a QR code is simply a more complex UPC code – where you want the best contrast you can provide, and the more data included, the more the “pixels” shrink. Hence our size recommendations as that data becomes finer.
The variable we all are working with, is what type of phone your end user has. A top of the line, newer iPhone will have good macro photography to scan a code. A 5 year old mid-range Android simply won’t have as nice of cameras to scan with. You will want to create good contrast, white or silver laser etching on our black metal cards is best. Black silkscreen ink on any of our other finishes works great. Having a QR code with white silkscreen outer square and black silkscreen for the data will be the absolute best.
We will use our industry experience and expertise to ensure we create the most user friendly QR code for your project, as your partner in success!
As your metal card experts, we will guide you to the best practices every time!
Order Step 1. Choose Your Custom Metal Card Finish
Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.)
QR codes are the exciting new way to combine a smartphone camera, or tablet, to quickly scan and get a website URL or your contact details. You can track this link, the number of scans, send them to an email signup or promo, and more!
Yes! QR codes make the elegant design of Metal VIP Cards, transform how you interact with customers. These quick-response codes provide instant access to a myriad of online resources, making them ideal for Metal Gift Cards. By fostering deeper customer connections, offering immediate access to your company’s details, and serving as a creative marketing tool, QR codes can significantly enhance customer engagement and expand your digital presence when used strategically.
QR codes present a distinctive opportunity to elevate the customer experience with your brand. Our Independence Day Discount is a great way to take advantage of this unique marketing platform. They act as a gateway to your online content and facilitate swift communication. With a simple scan from a Metal VIP Card, customers can be directed to your homepage, discover product information, or connect with your social media platforms. This fusion of physical and digital interaction can greatly improve your brand’s visibility and accessibility.
QR codes on Metal Business Cards are a cutting-edge method for boosting customer interaction, seamlessly bridging offline and online experiences, and enabling easy access to your business’s digital offerings. They are a smart, modern solution for businesses aiming to expand their reach and connect with a tech-savvy audience.
This is a great question! With our standard etching, which engraves into the card to create depth – We do not perform this process with QR codes, which includes etch+fill not being for QR codes. The reason why, is that QR codes are meant to be flat elements with great contrast, and not 3D elements with shadows. We can however laser etch QR codes on our Black Finishes (Matte Black and Gunmetal Brushed Black), so they show silver which is great contrast.
QR codes will work on our Polished finishes, but we want to focus on ease with the user – black silkscreen over white on the surface of the card works the best on any metal card. We can simply print a QR code with no background, but sometimes, a user may have to adjust the angle of the card on a Polished finish, if it’s a black QR code reflecting a black phone case for example.
How about unique QR codes per card, which is Variable Data? Yes, we can do this with laser etching or silkscreen printing – however this is a separate charge that requires a Custom Quote – please get in touch with us to make your project a great success!
Creating a QR code is simple and can be done using online QR code generators. These tools allow you to input the desired URL or information, customize the design, and download the QR code image, which can then be printed on your business cards.
You can link a QR code to various types of information, including your professional website, LinkedIn profile, digital portfolio, promotional videos, product catalogs, contact forms, or any other online resource that helps to showcase your business.
When integrating a QR code into your business card design, ensure it is prominently placed and easy to scan. Keep the surrounding area free of clutter to avoid scanning issues. Additionally, you can customize the QR code to match your brand colors and style for a cohesive look.
Our metal business cards are made from high-quality stainless steel, a high grade of type 304 which holds it’s form well. This is surgical grade tool steel commonly used in high end kitchen knives and medical supplies.
You can customize your metal business cards with various finishes, colors, and engraving options. We offer laser engraving, color printing, and cut-out designs to match your brand’s personality.
Most pro designers to beginners are using a vector design program like Adobe® Illustrator. Take note of our guidelines, tolerances, and requirements in our FREE Metal Card Template, that’ll give you the basic layout and options to kickstart your design! Or, we’ll design them for you with our Card Design Package.
Yes, we provide a digital proof for your approval before we proceed with production. This ensures your design meets your expectations.
Traditionally, for Membership Cards, VIP Cards, and Metal Gift Cards – The card dimensions are typically 85mm x 54mm (Credit Card Size / Gift Card Size). Remember to create your artwork at the credit card size dimension.
We offer multiple thicknesses – we recommend a minimum of 0.5mm, or Credit Card thickness is 0.7mm. Make your card really stand out, and we can add a side cut for a bottle opener, with our 1.0mm thickness.
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