QR created with indesign that doesn't work anymore

[Camille_06]

Hello,

I need assistance : I created a qr code that lead to the website for my wedding (host on portfolio)  in august but the qr code doesn't work anymore and it's very problematic because it is on my "wedding invitation" that are printed et already sent... is there a way to reactivate the qr code ? What can i do to fix the problem ?

Thanks you for your answers !

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Was that a static address - or some kind of virtual / dynamic / redirecting address? 

Can you share it - and image of the QR code itself? 

Otherwise - it'll be just guessing... 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

QR codes are absolutely static once created, and InDesign only creates QR codes from the data provided — that is, it does not add any kind of redirection, wrapper, tracking data or the like that might change over time.

If your QR code pointed to a static web address when you created it, it will continue to point to that address more or less forever; only a change to that destination address could cause the link not to work correctly.

Who provided the hosting/address? Was it a paid or complimentary service from some provider related to your wedding? I'd bet that if you look at it, it's got redirection and/or tracking features built in to the string... you're going to have to take it up with that host/provider.

[Camille_06]

Thanks you for your reply, it was that QR code (creation on september 28th 2024) :

And the website : https://cf26juillet2025.myportfolio.com/ (created in august 2024 and there were no changement of name since it's creation, plus, my subscription to adobe is still running).

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Camille_06

Your QR code works fine for me? 

I saved it to my phone - then used QR app - and link opened your website. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress · Accepted solution]

And for me. It's a simple QR code (just the URL data) and it goes right to the specified site.

What problem are you having?

(And just to correct another point, it has nothing to do with your Adobe subscription. This code will work "forevermore" as long as the destination address is correct. You are thinking of the plethora of "dynamic" QR code services where redirection and destination masking are used to make the code and its function a pay service. All of that can be easily avoided by using a code generator that simply encodes the data you give it, without "wrapping" or processing it. And that's what you have here. 🙂 )

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Camille_06

Can you post a photo of the printed QR code? From the invitations?

[Camille_06]

Well, I checked with the invitation, and I don't know what happened but the printed QR code is not the same than the one I send to the printer, I checked the document I send him and it is the correct one ... I have no clue of why it is different, but it is too late to fix it now 😕 well thans you for your quick answer, I will supress the post.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Use your phone to read the raw data from the code. (Not what it eventually processes and shows you.) If your printer or another provider added that "wrapper" or redirection or tracking code, or changed it in other ways without your permission... you have a good case for some kind of compensation. If the invites are already out there, a supplementary mailing, on them, might not be out of line.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Well, I checked with the invitation, and I don't know what happened but the printed QR code is not the same than the one I send to the printer, I checked the document I send him and it is the correct one ... I have no clue of why it is different, but it is too late to fix it now 😕 well thans you for your quick answer, I will supress the post.

By @Camille_06

Sorry to hear that. 

Is it a print quality error? 

Or "contents" has changed? Maybe you can contact the website and ask them to create redirection? 

It's a one line in the .htaccess file. 

[Camille_06]

Thanks you for your answers ! I will check with the printer and ask for a compensation.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Or "contents" has changed? Maybe you can contact the website and ask them to create redirection?

It's a one line in the .htaccess file.

Definitely don't overlook this — it's just a matter of having the base host accommodate a redirection of the "bad" address. It's used all the time when misprints happen in national ads or large-scale collateral print runs.

[James Gifford—NitroPress · Accepted solution]

Just to leapfrog on this: codes have to be printed at sufficient size for a clear, reliable reading. With razor-sharp printing or display, the grid can be as small as 1mm, but 2-3mm is a better limit; if the printing is soft or fuzzy or low-resolution (as, I could surmise, it might be on a wedding invitation), it would need to be larger (5-6mm) to be reliably readable.

There are several steps in getting from a QR code to a successful result in processing it. They all have to work.