QR code on posters and slides: talks, conferences and scientific posters

At talks and poster sessions the same thing always happens: anyone interested takes a photo of the slide with the reference or the email address on the poster. Then the photo gets lost in the gallery. A QR code leads straight to where things continue, to the slides, the paper or your profile. With a dynamic code it stays up to date after the conference too.

Where the code should lead

• slides to download, ideally as a PDF in a shared folder
• the paper or the preprint
• data, code or supplementary material
• a survey or poll during the talk
• your profile with a way to get in touch for questions

Point the code to one page, not to four different destinations. A folder or a small page with all links is clearer than four codes on one slide.

From preprint to publication

A poster is printed when the paper has often not even been published yet. With a dynamic QR code that is no problem. Today it points to the preprint, after publication to the final version. On the free plan you have two destination changes per code, and one is enough for this. If the poster later hangs in the institute corridor, it automatically refers to the right version.

How big the code needs to be

As a rule of thumb, a QR code should be at least one tenth of the distance from which it is scanned. On a poster that people stand one metre away from, 10 cm is good. On a slide in a large hall it must be much bigger. Use at least a quarter of the slide height and leave the slide up long enough for the back rows to scan as well.

• dark on light, with a light box around the code even in a dark slide layout
• a short text next to it: “Slides and paper”
• on the first and the last slide, not only at the end
• test it with your phone from the projector before the talk

Measuring interest

A dynamic QR code counts its scans. If you give the poster and the talk each their own code, you can see which format attracted more interest. At Same-QR you only see the total per code, not who scanned. That fits privacy expectations at conferences.

Free and without expiry

A poster often hangs in the institute corridor for years. A code from a trial that ends after two weeks does not help there. At Same-QR, 20 dynamic QR codes are permanently free, with no trial period, no credit card and no ads when scanning. For the scans of a conference, the 1,000 a month for the whole account are usually enough.

Conclusion

A QR code on posters and slides replaces taking photos and leads straight to slides, paper and contact. Make it big enough, show it early and for long enough, and point it to a destination you can switch after publication.

Frequently asked questions