A QR code without the white box
Set the background to transparent and the code drops straight onto your artwork — any colour, any photo, any packaging layout.
PNG and SVG export. 7-day free trial, no credit card required.
Why the white square is a problem
Most generators hand you a QR code sitting inside a solid white square. On a white page nobody notices. On a coloured background, a photograph or a piece of packaging artwork, that square announces itself as something pasted on afterwards.
Designers usually deal with it by masking the white out by hand, which is fine once and tedious across a range of SKUs. Exporting with a transparent background instead means the code arrives ready to place.
The one thing transparency does not change is the contrast requirement. A scanner still needs a clear difference between the dark modules and whatever sits behind them.
What to place it on — and what to avoid
Transparency moves the responsibility for contrast from us to your background. That is worth thinking about before the print run rather than after.
| Background | Works? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flat light colour | Yes | Plenty of contrast against dark modules |
| Flat dark colour | Invert the code | Dark on dark will not scan; use light modules instead |
| Busy photograph | Risky | Contrast changes across the code; scanners lose the pattern |
| Gradient | Test it | Fine at the light end, marginal at the dark end |
Export formats
PNG carries an alpha channel, which is what makes transparency work in a raster file. SVG is vector and has no background at all unless one is drawn, so it is transparent by nature and scales to any size without softening.
For print work, SVG or PDF is almost always the right answer. Send a printer a PNG and you are locked to the pixel dimensions you exported at.
Full format guidance lives on the file formats page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a transparent background affect scanning?
Not by itself. What affects scanning is the contrast between the code and whatever ends up behind it. On a light, flat background a transparent code scans exactly like one on white. On a dark or busy background you need to invert the code or add a subtle plate behind it.
Which formats keep the transparency?
PNG and SVG. JPEG has no alpha channel at all, so exporting to JPEG will fill the background with white regardless of your setting.
Can I put a transparent code over a photograph?
You can, but test it before printing. Contrast varies across a photograph, and a scanner needs a consistent difference between the dark modules and the background across the whole code. A solid area of the image is much safer than a detailed one.
Is transparency available on the free trial?
Yes. Background settings are part of the design step and available during the 7-day trial with no credit card.
Drop your code onto any background
Transparent PNG and SVG export, ready to place in your artwork.
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