Inkbeep

Help & documentation

Everything about how Inkbeep works — the same explanations as the ⓘ icons, in one place. Search, or jump to a chapter.

Getting started

Pick the right code, type your data, check that it beeps, download. That is the whole flow — here is what is happening behind it.

Which code for what?

EAN-13/UPC-A are the retail codes — they need a GS1-licensed number and scan at any checkout. Code 128 and Code 39 carry free-form text for logistics, tickets and internal labels. ITF-14 goes on shipping cartons, GS1 DataBar/GS1-128 carry weight, dates and batch. QR codes hold links and longer text and are read by any phone camera; Data Matrix is the compact 2D choice for tiny parts and pharma. If in doubt: retail shelf → EAN-13, everything people scan with a phone → QR.

How the "It beeps" check works

Every code is decoded back before you download it — QR codes with jsQR and barcodes with the ZXing reader, both running in your browser. Green means an independent reader recovered exactly the data you typed; red means it could not, and the file should not be used as is. The check runs on the same pixels (or, in print mode, the same geometry) as the file you download, so what beeps is what you get. It cannot replace a physical proof: always scan a printed test before a large run.

Why doesn't my phone camera react to this code?

By design. The built-in camera app only acts on QR codes, because a QR usually contains a link the phone can open. A retail barcode is just a number — the camera reads it but has nothing to do with it, so it stays silent. The code still scans perfectly in checkouts and in apps that look up products (store and price-checker apps). The check shown here decodes the code with an independent reader (zxing) to prove it is machine-readable.

Screen or print shop

The same code is exported differently for a screen and for a press. These are the settings that matter and what they do.

Screen or print shop?

Screen gives files for digital use and office printers — PNG/JPG in high resolution, SVG for websites, and a PDF in RGB (true vector, sharp at any size). Print shop gives a press-ready vector PDF in DeviceCMYK with Bar Width Reduction — what a print shop or packaging designer asks for.

PNG/JPG resolution

100% exports at 6 pixels per module — the width of the narrowest bar (or QR square). That is plenty for screens and office printers. Go higher when the code will be scaled up in a layout or printed large; lower only for tiny web thumbnails. The file is always re-rendered at the chosen size, never upscaled, so edges stay crisp.

Related:Screen or print shop?

X-dimension and scale

The X-dimension is the width of the narrowest bar in the code — every other bar is an exact multiple of it. 100% equals the GS1 nominal size of 0.33 mm. Scale up for scanning at a distance; never go below 80% for codes that will be scanned at a retail checkout.

Bar Width Reduction (BWR)

On press, ink spreads slightly and makes bars fatter than in the file (dot gain). BWR compensates by drawing every bar slightly narrower in advance, so the printed result comes out right. Ask your print shop for their recommended value — 10–40 μm is typical for offset; use 0 for thermal label printers.

CMYK colors

CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) is how print shops mix ink. Just want a black code? Leave the default as is (K = 100). Custom values only matter when the code must print in a brand color — dark, high-contrast colors on a light background only, and always confirm with your printer.

What is a hybrid PDF?

The QR modules stay true vector in DeviceCMYK with BWR applied — infinitely scalable, exactly what a print shop wants. The center logo/emoji has no exact vector form, so it is embedded as a high-resolution RGB image with transparency inside the same file. Most print shops accept this for digital printing; for offset or spot-color jobs, ask your printer first. Error correction is locked at H (30%), and the preview is decode-verified WITH the logo in place — so the code still scans.

QR designer

Styled codes, logos and photos — and what keeps them scannable.

Error correction and logos

A QR code carries redundant data so it still reads when part of it is covered or damaged. Level H (the highest, ~30 %) is locked on in the designer so a centred logo or emoji never eats into the real safety margin. The verification then proves the specific code still decodes with the logo in place. Keep logos inside the centre area and keep the three finder squares untouched.

Photo QR (halftone)

Each module is split into 3×3 sub-pixels. The centre pixel always carries the code's true value; the outer eight halftone your photo. Finder and timing patterns are never touched. The result is a real code with your image woven in — print it at least 3×3 cm and test with your phone before using it.

Dynamic QR codes

Codes you can re-point after printing, with scan statistics that cannot be pumped up.

What is a dynamic QR code?

A normal QR code encodes the link itself — printed, it can never change. A dynamic code encodes a short inkbeep.com/r/… link that we redirect to your destination. You can change that destination at any time (the printed code keeps working) and see how often, where and on which devices it was scanned. The person scanning is sent straight on; we never show a landing page.

Accounts without passwords

Only dynamic QR codes need an account. You enter your email, we send a one-time login link (valid 15 minutes), and clicking it logs you in on that device for 30 days. No password exists, so nothing can leak. The session is a strictly necessary httpOnly cookie.

Which destinations are allowed?

Any public http:// or https:// page. Not allowed: local/private addresses, URL shorteners (bit.ly, tinyurl …) and other Inkbeep short links — chaining redirects hides the real target from the person scanning, which is exactly what phishing does. You can change the destination at any time; the printed code keeps working. Beta limit: 10 dynamic codes per account.

How "unique" is counted

Raw = every real scan that hit the link. Unique = one per device and day: we hash the scanner's IP address + browser signature + date with a secret salt and count that hash once per day — the IP itself is never stored. Link previews (Slack, WhatsApp, iMessage, Teams …), crawlers and scripts are filtered out and shown separately, and a device scanning more than 10 times a minute stops being counted. Unique can UNDER-count (several people on the same Wi-Fi with the same phone model look alike) — we prefer that to a number that can be pumped up.

Free beta — what that means

Dynamic QR codes are free while we are in beta, with a limit of 10 codes per account. Codes you create now stay free — if pricing is introduced later it applies to new codes or higher limits, never to codes already printed. A printed code is a promise, and we treat it that way.

Batch, labels, validation and API

The tools around the generator.

Batch and label sheets

Batch generates up to 500 codes per run from a list, a CSV or a number sequence and returns a ZIP; rows that cannot be encoded are listed in _errors.txt. Label sheets place codes on common A4 templates (Avery and compatible) as a print-ready PDF — print at 100 %, never "fit to page", and always test a sheet on plain paper first.

API

Every generator is available as a simple HTTP API that returns PNG, SVG or PDF. Anonymous use has a per-IP rate limit; a free registered key lifts it. The API docs page has the exact endpoints and parameters.

Related:Batch and label sheets API →

Privacy

What we store, what we never store.

Privacy in short

Inkbeep sets no cookies unless you log in for dynamic codes. Barcode and QR generation runs without an account and the QR designer runs entirely in your browser. Analytics (Google Analytics) loads only after you accept it in the banner. Scan statistics for dynamic codes never store the scanner's IP address — see the full privacy page for details.