A barcode talks to registers. A QR code talks to readers. Since every phone now scans them from the camera app, a QR code on a book is the simplest way to connect a printed object to anything that lives online.
Where to put it
Back cover, near the barcode. Readers already look there. A QR code of about 2 cm beside the EAN barcode is unobtrusive and expected.
Inside the front or back cover. Bigger, less constrained by design, and read by people who already own the book. Good for bonus material, a newsletter or the next book in a series.
Bookmarks, postcards and flyers. Each placement can carry its own code, which is the only way to learn which placement works.
Spine. Too narrow; skip it.
Size and print
- Keep the finished code at least 2 cm (0.8 in) square for a back cover, larger for posters.
- Leave a quiet margin around it, at least two modules wide.
- Print dark on light. Reversed (light on dark) codes scan less reliably.
- Avoid heavy gloss over the code; glare defeats cameras.
- Use error correction level Q or H so scuffs and creases do not kill it.
- Test the proof with at least two phones before the print run.
What to link to
The destination matters more than the code. Options, roughly in order of usefulness:
- A page you control, listing every place the book can be bought. It works for every reader whatever store they prefer, and you can change it.
- A direct store, if most of your sales are direct and you want the shortest path to checkout.
- A retailer page, if one retailer dominates your sales. The risk: the link is now theirs, and it will break if the listing moves.
- A newsletter sign-up, for inside-cover codes aimed at people who have finished the book.
Static or dynamic
A static QR code encodes the destination URL directly. It is permanent: whatever you print is where it goes, forever. A dynamic code encodes a short link that redirects to the destination, so you can change the target after printing and count the scans.
For a printed book, dynamic is the only sensible choice. Print runs outlast websites, retailers and launch campaigns. Why a static URL on your cover is a mistake goes into the ways this goes wrong.
What a dynamic code tells you
Each scan can record where it came from (city-level), the device, and which printed placement carried the code. Over a season, that answers questions no sales report can: Did the bookshop event lead anywhere? Does the bookmark get scanned? Are readers in a city you never visited?
ScanSpine issues a dynamic QR code with every title and lets you add up to ten more, one per placement. Scans appear in the dashboard as they happen, and the destination can be changed at any time without touching the printed book.