QR code generator for laser engraving

To laser engrave a QR code that scans, make each module (the smallest square) clearly wider than your laser's line, keep a clear border of four modules around it, engrave it as one filled vector so the squares have crisp edges, and engrave the right part for your material: the modules on wood and leather, the background on materials that mark light. This generator does all four and exports SVG, DXF or PNG at real size.

Think in modules, not millimetres

A QR code's size is set by how much it holds. More data or more error correction means a higher version with more modules, so each module gets smaller at the same width. Denso Wave, the company that invented the QR code, specifies a margin of four modules on every side, called the quiet zone.

Sizes below were made with this tool at error correction M and include the quiet zone.

The tool shows the version and the exact module size as you type. If modules drop below 0.4 mm it warns you, because most lasers blur neighbouring squares together at that size. Shorter links make smaller codes, so a short domain or a redirect from your own site is worth it for small tags.

Engrave the modules or the background

Phones read a QR code as dark squares on a light background. What your laser does to the material decides which part to engrave.

Pick the material and the tool flips the job for you, so the finished piece still reads dark on light. The Invert the code switch is there if you want light modules on purpose, but some scanners refuse inverted codes.

Fill settings that keep the squares sharp

Every module that touches another is merged into one outline, so a fill has no seams or double-burned lines between squares. In LightBurn, put the code on a Fill layer and check these settings, quoted from LightBurn's documentation:

1. Line Interval. "The ideal Line Interval will produce lines that just touch, without overlapping." Too wide and the squares look striped and scan poorly.
2. Bi-directional fill engraves on both passes of the sweep, which is faster.
3. Overscanning "adds extra moves to the beginning and end of each line to give the laser time to speed up before firing," which keeps the left and right edges of each module clean.
4. Cross-hatch "will run a second engraving pass 90 degrees rotated from the first," which can even out the background on slate and anodized aluminium.

Starting power and speed for your machine and material are in the laser settings chart, with a test grid to dial them in. After import, check the width in the size boxes matches the size you set here.

LightBurn's own QR tool, or this one

LightBurn 2.x can make QR codes itself at Tools, Create Bar Code, with tabs for Wi-Fi and contact details and an error correction slider. If you only use LightBurn and engrave dark-marking wood, it is quick. This page is the better fit when you:

• engrave slate, anodized aluminium or tumblers and want the background engraved automatically
• use xTool Studio, Glowforge, a CAD program or a CNC router and need SVG or DXF at real size
• want the exact module size in millimetres before you commit
• want the same code as a 3D printed QR code plate

Test before the real piece

Engrave the code once on scrap of the same material. Scan it with two different phones, in the light where it will hang. Glossy finishes and bare metal can glare, so tilt the phone if a reflection hides the code. If it fails, make the code larger, raise the error correction one step, or tighten the line interval. The tumbler engraving guide and the glass engraving guide cover the materials that need extra care.