QR Codes on Product Packaging

The five jobs a pack code can do

Pick two. Trying to do all five behind one square produces a menu nobody reads.

1. Replace the printed manual. A PDF or hosted guide is searchable, updatable, translated, and it never gets thrown out with the box. It also removes a genuine cost from every unit.
2. Register the warranty. The scan captures the customer at the exact moment they are motivated, which is the only time warranty registration ever gets completed.
3. Prove authenticity. A unique serialised code per unit turns counterfeiting into something checkable by the customer rather than by a lab.
4. Bring them back. Reorder consumables, refills and cartridges. This is the highest-revenue pack code in every category that has a refill.
5. Ask for the review. Placed inside the box rather than outside, so it reaches buyers rather than browsers.

Outside the box or inside it

The distinction matters more than the design:

• Outside the pack is read by shoppers deciding. Comparison, demo video, ingredients and sizing.
• Inside, on the lid flap or an insert card, is read by owners. Setup, warranty, reviews and reorder.

Two codes, two audiences, two different reports. Brands that print one code outside and nothing inside miss the more valuable half.

Print rules

• 20 mm on a carton, 15 mm absolute minimum on a small pack
• Place it on a flat panel, clear of folds, seals and the area where a retailer's price sticker lands
• Matte varnish over the code, even when the rest of the pack is gloss
• Never print on metallic board without a white panel underneath
• Add the code to the dieline as a keep-clear zone, so it does not end up under a flap in production
• Export vector, never a screenshot of a preview. See the print resolution guide for why a raster code at 300 dpi is still the wrong answer

The instruction is the campaign

"Scan for the setup video" outperforms a logo and a naked square by several times, across every category anyone has tested. The reader is not curious about the square. They are curious about what it gives them.

Serialisation, when it is worth it

Unique codes per unit unlock the things brands actually want: verified authenticity, per-unit warranty, refill entitlement, and grey-market tracing. It is more work at the print stage, needing variable data printing, and it is worth it in cosmetics, spirits, spare parts and anything counterfeited.

For everything else a single dynamic code per SKU is enough, and it still lets the destination change from launch offer to evergreen support without touching the artwork.