What an email QR actually does
Under the hood an email QR encodes a mailto: link with three optional parts: to (your address), subject (pre-filled), and body (pre-filled). The scanner's phone reads the link, opens its default mail app, and drops the cursor in the body field with everything pre-populated. The sender just hits send.
This is much better than printing your email address. Reading-and-typing has friction; tap-and-send has none.
When email QRs are the right tool
- Support cards. Print on the back of a product: scan to email support. Pre-fill the body with the order number field so customers know what to include.
- Sales follow-up. Trade show flyers with a QR that opens a "Send me the deck" email — easier than asking attendees to remember an address.
- Lead capture in B2B. On the bottom of a slide or PDF, a QR that emails the speaker. Higher response than a typed email address.
- Internal IT support. Office posters: "Wifi not working? Scan to email IT, your room number is already filled in."
For real-time chat support, a WhatsApp QR is usually higher conversion than email — pick the channel that matches how your audience prefers to communicate.
Subject and body templates that work
The pre-fill is the magic. A blank email is intimidating; a pre-filled one feels nine-tenths done. Good patterns:
- Subject = identify the campaign. "Trade show 2026 — info request"
- Body = the friction-removing form. "Hi, I saw your booth and would like a copy of the deck. My company is: __"
Keep the body under three lines. People will delete anything longer.
Make sure it works on every phone
iOS and Android handle mailto: differently. iOS opens Mail.app or the user's default mail app. Android opens whatever the user set as default — Gmail, Outlook, or stock mail. Test with at least one iOS and one Android phone before printing in bulk, ideally with both a major and a non-default mail client.
If a customer has no default mail app on their phone (rare but real), the link silently fails. Always print a fallback address in plain text near the QR.
How to make an email QR code in 4 steps
Pick Email type on QRolling
On the home page, choose Email from the QR types. The form asks for address, subject, and body.
Fill in to/subject/body
Your email goes in 'to'. Subject identifies the campaign. Body is your friction-removing template — keep it short.
Brand and style
Add your logo, pick a color, and choose corner shape. Switch error correction to High when a logo is overlaid.
Print and test
Download SVG for print or PNG for digital. Test scanning on both an iPhone and an Android before printing in volume.
Frequently asked
Does the scanner need a mail app installed?
Yes — the link opens whatever mail app is set as default. If the phone has no default mail app the link silently fails, so always print a fallback address near the QR.
How long can the subject and body be?
Practically, keep both short. Long URLs make the QR dense and harder to scan. Body under three lines is the sweet spot.
Can I CC or BCC people?
Yes — the mailto: format supports cc and bcc parameters. The generator exposes those fields when you need them.
Will it work on a desktop?
Yes if the user has a mail client like Outlook or Mail.app installed. On browsers with no mail client set, the user is prompted to pick one.
Can I change the destination email later?
Yes. The code here is dynamic, so the address behind it can change without a reprint. A static code encodes the mailto: straight into the pattern, which is why a moved support address would mean new labels.
Read next
Need a different QR type? Browse all 48 QR types on the home page.