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Softmatic QR Designer for Adobe Photoshop

Softmatic QR Designer for Adobe Photoshop

Fast and easy creation of custom QR 2D barcodes with the Softmatic QR Designer for Adobe Photoshop 2021 or higher.

Choose from eight different code styles and millions of colors. Customize the QR barcode for your brand by adding logos or icons to the symbol.

Supported data types:

  • Plain text
  • URL, web address
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • SMS number
  • Wifi access data
  • VCard / business card

The extension features one of the fastest QR generation algorithms with the code updated in real time as you type or change styles and colors. The designer is fully Unicode capable with support for accented characters, umlauts and non-Latin scripts.

The Softmatic QR designer extension works stand alone, no online access, external components or barcode fonts required. PSD documents with QR codes have no dependencies and can be freely shared.

A sample PSD showing the supported QR styles and content types (300ppi, download):

Create QR code in Photoshop

Current version:

V1.2.0 02/22 (previous versions)

System requirements:

macOS 10.15 or higher
Windows 10 or higher
Adobe Photoshop CC 2021 (Version 22) or higher

Installation

Locate the extension on the Adobe Exchange.

It is also available in the Creative Cloud App. Select the Stock & Marketplace tab, section Plugins and search for "softmatic":

Adobe Creative Cloud Softmatic Barcode Extension Illustrator InDesign

After purchasing, the extension should automatically be downloaded and installed in your local extensions folder. The extension can then be found in the Photoshop menu bar Window > Extensions (legacy).

If the automatic install fails, you can anytime install manually: In the Creative Cloud app navigate to Stock & Marketplace > Plugins > Manage Plugins. The extension should be listed in this panel. Close Photoshop and then click the "Install" button next to the listing. After installation, reopen Photoshop.

Note that the extension is tied to the Adobe ID that was used for purchasing.

Creating a QR code in Photoshop

Creating a QR code in Photoshop works in four easy steps:

  1. Select the data content of the QR code: Text, URL, phone no., email address, VCard, Wifi access data
  2. Set the color and style of the code and the finder patterns; set the ECC (error correction) level
  3. Embed a logo or image by dragging it over the QR code (optional)
  4. Set the size of the code, then add the QR code to your Illustrator artwork

Let's look at those steps in more detail. Shown is the extension's panel with the default settings:



QR code with text in Photoshop

Select the content type from the drop down in the top left corner. Available are:

  • Plain text, e.g "QR Text"

  • URL, e.g. "https://example.com"

    This post has more info on creating QR codes with URLs and web links

  • Email address, e.g. "mailto:info@example.com"

  • Phone number, e.g. "tel:+18005551234"

    This post has more on creating QR codes with phone numbers

  • SMS number, e.g. "smsto:44044"

  • Wifi access data, with SSID, encryption method and password

    The extension will format the data according to this specification, e.g.:

    WIFI:S:My Network;T:WPA;P:My Password;;

    The password is optional. This post has more on creating QR codes with Wlan access data

  • VCard / business card, with name, address, contact data etc.

    Last name and first name are mandatory; all other fields are optional. The extension will format the data according to VCard Version 3 specs.

More on VCard data

With VCard content type selected, you can enter all relevant data manually. However, it's much faster to simply drag a VCF file with contact data over the panel, like so (note the highlight green frame):

Photoshop Create QR Code with VCard business card

This will automatically fill in all the data. This post has more on VCF files and creating QR codes with VCard & business card data.

Data input

Enter your text into the Data field, note how the code is updated in real time as you type. You can also paste text into the field; if the preview doesn't update, type a space or hit <Enter>.

Set styles and colors of the QR code

The extension lets you choose between four different shapes and two different styles for the dots. Click the color wells to select colors or type a color name, e.g. "green", into the edit field. You can also paste HEX codes into the field (e.g. "#FF0000" for red) and update the color with <Enter>.

Make sure to select colors that provide some contrast between the background and the code. Avoid very light colors as they can reduce the readability of the code.

Per default the code has a white background. As an additional option, you can create the code with a transparent background, this is useful if you want to place the barcode on an existing document, e.g. a photo, frame, or illustration. Again, make sure to have contrasty color combinations. Do not create "inverted" codes (e.g. yellow on a black background) as most barcode reader apps won't scan such codes.

Note: The three finder patterns in the corners of the QR code are always drawn solid to ensure that the code will scan properly.

Setting the size of the QR code

Use the slider in the design panel to set the desired size of the code. The pixel dimensions of the code is indicated unter the preview window. If the selected dot size results in a code that won't fit into the preview, the display will be scaled down accordingly.

Note that the eventual "real world" size of the code depends on the current document's resolution. Example: A 200x200 pixel code will be ca. 17x17mm² on a 300dpi document but ca. 70x70mm² on a 72dpi document.

Setting the error correction level (ECC) of the QR code

The QR barcode supports four levels of error correction capability:
  • Low (L) - can reconstruct a symbol with ~7% of the area missing or damaged
  • Medium (M) - can reconstruct a symbol with ~15% of the area missing or damaged
  • High (Q) - can reconstruct a symbol with ~22% of the area missing or damaged
  • Best (H) - can reconstruct a symbol with ~30% of the area missing or damaged
For most purposes the preset error correction level of "Medium" will be the right choice. If you plan to add images or logos to the code, set the level to "High (Q)" or "Best (H)".

Adding an image or logo to the QR code in Photoshop

One outstanding feature of QR is the very capable error correction. When set to the highest level, even codes where 30% of the area are missing or damaged can still be recognized. This can be exploited for so called "vanity codes" by overlaying a company logo or icon or other imagery over the code.

To add an image, simply drag it from the desktop or the file manager over the preview; note the highlighting:

Drag image over QR code in Photoshop

The QR Designer supports embedding logos & images in all common image file formats (TIFF, PNG, JPEG, SVG etc.) and will honor transparency if present in the image. Please consider the following best practices when embedding an image:
  • Always use ECC settings "High" or "Best" for maximum protection
  • You will get the best quality if you have an image that does not require scaling down or when using a vector image (SVG)
  • Although the code is verified with the built-in reader, always test the final code against a variety of online and offline reader apps, see last section in the manual
Once loaded, the code will be updated:

Embed image in QR code in Photoshop

By default the image is centered within the QR code. Use the arrow buttons above the preview to change the position of the image. Adjust the size with the slider, delete the image with the "x"-button.

Tip: If you want to embed your logo later, simply use a white square as an image and adjust it to the proper size. This will leave an empty space in the center of the code where you can then place your artwork.

Add QR code to an image Photoshop

Once the preview is updated and shows a valid barcode, click "Insert QR Code" to add the QR code to your Photoshop document. The barcode will be added on a new layer, with the name set to "QR Code". This layer will be inserted directly above the current active layer.

Scaling the code is usually acceptable but make sure to scale proportionally, i.e. equally in width and height. Always verify a scaled code with a reader app, see last section.

Tip To prevent accidental changes, lock the layer by clicking the padlock icon in the layers panel.

Verifying the QR code in Photoshop

The extension comes with its own integrated QR reader to verify the code. This is especially useful if you embed images into the code. In this example, the embedded logo is too large. The code is not verified, even with the ECC setting to "Best":

QR code reader in Photoshop fail

Scaling the logo down a little results in a code that is valid:

QR code reader in Photoshop pass

However, the reader has two shortcomings which you should keep in mind:
  • It can't detect low contrast color combinations and will verify codes that would likely fail in real life, e.g. light gray dots over a white background.
  • When embedding logos, the verifier can not detect transparency in the image. Even if large parts of the logo were transparent and let the QR code shine through, the reader would not verify the code if it deems the image too large.

It is therefore highly recommended that you test the code with a dedicated scanner app. On iOS you can use the stock camera app which can detect and read QR codes. For Android, we recommend the free Google ZXing app. Google ZXing is also available as an online service. This post has tips on scanning QR codes.

Download

The Softmatic QR Designer for Photoshop can be downloaded from the Creative Cloud Marketplace. We also provide barcode extensions for Illustrator and InDesign, see here.

Softmatic QR Designer for Photoshop - Version history

February 2022: V1.2
  • Support for content type WiFi access data
  • Support for content type VCard / business card
  • Improved rendering and code quality
  • Improved code preview
  • Improved compatibility with PS 2022 (V23)
August 2021: V1.1
  • Corrects an issue with the built-in code verifier
June 2021: V1.0
  • Initial release

New to QR codes?

Make sure to see our introduction to QR codes.