FAQ: Can You Change a QR Code Link After Printing?

Question: Can you change a QR code link after printing?

Answer: A barcode’s function on an adhesive label is to carry information. Once a QR code is printed onto a label, that information is generally locked in. So, no, we cannot change the information contained in a code already printed, however with pre-planning or a little creative web work, it may be possible!

*IF* your static QR code contains a link to a document or web page, you can change what is saved in the destination link, as long as you don’t change the link name itself. You can also use redirects in your website tool to redirect viewers to a new location.

There is also an option called a “dynamic” QR code – if you expect that you will have changes to the code destination, investing in this option will allow you to change its editable redirection link as needed.

When a customer asks us if they’re free to change their QR code destination after we print their labels, we hate to disappoint them, but usually have to explain that no, you can’t change the QR code’s information after you print it. (Unless of course, you decide to use a dynamic QR code over a static one, but we’ll get to that in a minute.)

But as we stated above, there’s some fine print to that no, and while we can’t change your QR code’s path to its selected destination, some types of QR code destinations allow for making changes!

Once that QR code is printed, regardless of whether you print it yourself or have a label maker like EIM print it for you, you are locked into the information you encoded your QR code with.

In essence, as soon as the ink on your static QR code hits the label, the encoded destination path is locked. You can’t change the encoded information.
With static QR codes, what you sometimes can change is not the path, but the destination itself. Allow us to explain.

Instead of plain data, some QR codes contain a hyperlink that takes the user directly to a company’s website, a PDF, file, an order form page, etc. When your QR code takes you to a file or webpage location (instead of just displaying text), that’s when you can go in and make edits to the destination page itself—everyone who scans that QR code in the future will see your changes, but the QR code itself doesn’t change.

• Weblinks
• PDF files
• Videos
• Other Documents & Editable Files

REMEMBER: when you edit a static QR code, you can’t change the path you’ve encoded into your QR code. Make sure when you save your changes and updates, the link name STAYS THE SAME, otherwise you’ll be sending people to an empty 404 page instead of your updated content!

Question: Can I change the text & numerical data in my QR code after my label is printed?

Answer: Nope. No luck on this one. Whether it’s a barcode number or textual data, once that code is printed you are stuck with it. This is one of the reasons we always ask our customers to closely review their label proofs when they receive them pre-print run.

Always check that your barcode data is accurate before giving your label printer the signal to go!

Yes! Because dynamic QR codes use editable redirection links (a modifiable short URL), they enable you to update your QR code’s data or destination as many times as you need. Dynamic QR codes often offer additional perks, such as the ability to track the number of times it is scanned, or they can be used to gather other analytical data as well.

Overall, dynamic QR code offers an immense amount of future flexibility and tracking capabilities that static QR codes simply don’t have. Not to mention they effectively eliminate the need to reprint your QR code labels every time you need to change your barcode’s content or destination!