How to turn an image into a QR code

An image QR code opens one picture when someone scans it. It can be a poster, a specials board, a price list or a floor plan. The picture lives on ovbq, so you can swap it later and the printed code stays the same.

What an image QR code does

Someone scans the code and a small page opens with your picture and its title. They can open the picture full size or save it. There is nothing to install and no sign-in.

The code holds a short ovbq link, not the picture. That is why a new picture can use the same printed code.

Make one (Pro and Business)

Sign in, make a new editable code and choose PDF or image. Upload a JPEG or a PNG, up to 10 MB. Give it a title, like Dinner specials. Save, then scan the code with your own phone.

• JPEG or PNG? Use JPEG for photos. Use PNG for text, logos and drawings, where sharp edges matter.
• Too big? A photo straight from a phone camera can pass 10 MB. If we say it is too big, save a smaller copy and upload that.
• Already host the picture yourself? A fixed code from the free maker that opens its link costs nothing.

Describe the picture

People who use a screen reader hear a picture only if it has a description. Write what it shows in a sentence, up to 200 characters. If your picture is mostly words, such as a menu, a menu page or a PDF with real text reads better, because the words are on the page itself.

What we do to your picture

We check what a file contains, not what its name says. We re-save every image, which removes hidden data such as the location a camera recorded. The page says the file is hosted by ovbq and has a Report this file link at the bottom. We ask search engines not to list it.

Swap the picture later

Open the code, choose the new file under Replace the file and save. The old picture is deleted when the new one passes every check. The page address and the printed code stay the same, and so do your scan counts.

When a PDF or a menu page is better

A picture is one image. For several pages, use a PDF: see how to put a PDF behind a QR code. For a menu that guests read on a phone, a long picture is hard to read on a small screen. Build a menu page instead: see how to make a QR code menu.

Print it where people stand

Give the code room to scan. How big should a QR code be? gives sizes for a table card, a window and a sign. Print a test copy and scan it from where a guest would stand.

Hosted pictures come with the Pro and Business plans.

Related: PDF to QR code · Change a QR code's link

Need several pictures on one page? Make an image gallery QR code. Use this image option when one picture is enough.

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