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Print-ready signs

The signs feature gives you a finished printable PDF — heading, instruction text, your QR code, laid out on a real paper size — without opening a design tool.

You'll find it on your code's page in the dashboard, right under the QR code, in the Print-ready signs card. Hit Design a sign.

Print-ready signs card on the code page

Picking a size and template

You'll see three paper sizes and a handful of templates per size.

Sizes (US units, metric in parentheses)

  • 5 × 7 in / 127 × 178 mm — counter sign, reception desk
  • 8.5 × 11 in / 216 × 279 mm (US Letter, close to A4) — wall sign, flyer, bulletin board
  • 4 × 6 in / 102 × 152 mm (close to A6) — small counter card, table tent

Templates

  • Simple Centered QR — big QR with a headline above and a short instruction below. The workhorse.
  • Practical Notice — formal posted-notice layout, good for HOAs, churches, apartments, schools.
  • Counter Card — compact tabletop layout, warm and casual.
  • Window Cling — high-contrast dark layout for retail windows.

Pick a size, then a template. Hit Create sign — you go straight to the editor.

The size + template picker

Editing

The left side is the form, the right side is a live preview that updates as you type.

You can change:

  • Sign name — internal name only, customers don't see this.
  • Headline, instruction, footer — the text on the sign. Each one lets you pick a font (serif, sans-serif, or decorative — 9 total) and a color (with a hex picker).
  • Primary / Accent / Background colors — the template's color scheme.
  • QR background — white (recommended) or transparent. Transparent lets your background color show through the QR code, which can be cool but is harder to scan on dark backgrounds.

The sign editor

Live preview

The preview refreshes about half a second after you stop typing or changing a value. The toggle above the preview (White / Black) flips the background behind the document so you can sanity-check how the design reads against a light wall vs. a dark surface — it doesn't change the actual printed file.

Save vs. Download

  • Save stores your edits so they're there next time you open the editor.
  • Download PDF gives you the finished file — that's the one you print or hand off to a printer.

The PDF filename is your code's friendly name + the sign's name (e.g. hawthorne-counter-card.pdf).

Tips

  • Keep the headline short. It's the biggest thing on the sign and long headlines wrap awkwardly.
  • Test scan before printing in bulk. Download the PDF, open it on your phone screen, scan it with your camera. If it scans on screen, it'll scan on paper.
  • Dark backgrounds: stick with the white QR background. A transparent QR on a dark background often won't scan.