How To Create Lost-And-Found QR Code Labels for Free at Home (DIY)
This tutorial was originally posted on PingTag’s blog. If you are not able to read the entire article here, please follow this link.
QR codes provide a great way for creating lost-and-found labels for valuable items, like cameras, keys, wallets, water bottles, and personal electronics. When an item is lost, whoever finds it can scan the QR code label on it and contact the owner to return it.
QR codes come in two flavors: static and dynamic. A static QR code encodes the information directly in the QR code image, while a dynamic QR code links to a URL that contains the information that shows when it is scanned.
The biggest benefit of using a dynamic QR code is that the information that it displays when it is scanned can be updated without changing the QR code itself (as long as the URL of the page displaying that information does not change). However, dynamic QR codes require a dedicated website or server to host that page, and most QR code generators charge for those codes.
In this post, I am showing two options for creating static and dynamic lost-and-found QR code labels for free that can be printed at home and attached to valuable items, school supplies, sports equipment, etc.
If you prefer to watch rather than read, here is an 8-minute video showing the entire process.
Option 1: Using a generic QR code generator
For this option, I am using QRCodeChimp, which is a great tool for generating QR codes, but any other QR code generator should work.
Instead of the default option for the QR code (URL), find the option for the V-Card (contact card), enter your name, email and phone number, and then download the generated QR code, print it, and attach it to your items.
There are a couple of drawbacks with that approach:
1- The QR code is static, which means your contact information is encoded into the QR code image itself. If you need to change your contact information (in case you are traveling and want to be reached at a different number), you need to generate a new code, print it, and attach it to every item all over again.
2- Because your contact information is encoded into the static QR code’ image, it is visible to anyone who scans your QR code or even takes a video or a photo of it. It will show your contact information forever, and there is no way to “turn it off”.
Option 2: Using PingTag
PingTag is a lost-and-found QR code label generator, and it comes in two flavors: Lite and Premium. The Lite version, which is free forever and allows you to generate dynamic lost-and-found QR code labels to add your contact information to your valuable items, and to update it anytime without having to change the QR code itself.
The Premium version allows you to hide your contact information while receiving text messages privately and replying anonymously via SMS.
For this demo, we will use the Lite (free forever) version.
The first step is to sign up for a free PingTag account here.
Once you sign in, your dashboard will have a collection of all the lost-and-found QR code labels that you have previously created, and each of them will have a unique QR code assigned to it. If one of your QR codes is ever lost or accidentally shared, you can delete it from your dashboard, and it will no longer display your contact information when scanned.
Since this is the first time you sign in, your dashboard will be empty.
CREATE A NEW QR CODE LABEL
To create a new lost-and-found label, click the “create a new QR tag” button on the top right, and then select “For everything else” as the type of the code.
PingTag also allows you to generate a QR code for your car to place on the windshield in case someone needs to contact you to move it.
Assign a name and emoji to your QR code and indicate whether you want your name, phone number and/or email to show when it is scanned, and then hit CREATE.
Once your QR code is created, PingTag will open the admin page for that code where you can edit it, preview it, download it and print it.
If you hit Preview, or scan that QR code with your smartphone’s camera, it shows a short message and a contact information.
PRINT YOUR QR CODE LABEL
You can download your QR code from that page and use it with any design program to print it and attach it to your items.
You can also use the ready-made lost-and-found label templates provided by PingTag by clicking the “Print” button in the admin page for that QR code.
The first option is to use PingTag’s templates for Canva (free), and add the downloaded QR code to that template and then print it.
There are various designs and sizes available for all purposes, like business card templates for your wallet and luggage, windshield sticker for your car, or square/round labels for your gadgets, school supplies and keychains.
The second option is to use PingTag’s existing templates on that page. Your QR code and a default message are already included in those templates.
You can even create a custom lock screen for your phone with your own lost-and-found QR code, or to easily exchange contact information with someone.
You can print your QR code label on a regular sheet of paper and attach it using Scotch tape, but that often looks ugly. The best alternative is to purchase printable vinyl sticker paper and print on it.
And if you’re a ninja, you can purchase kiss-cut sticker sheets, generate multiple QR code labels, and use the templates that come with those sheets to add them all to a single sheet and print them, which will save you the following step.
Cut around the label and stick it on your items. You can use Canva, Word, Pages, Keynote or PowerPoint to add multiple ones to the same sheet.
If you need to update your contact information anytime, you simply login to your dashboard, click “Manage Contacts” and then change your information, which will update it on all your tags at once.
Pretty neat, right?
And if want to remove your contact information from any tag, you can select it, click Edit and then Delete. If a deleted QR code is scanned, it will show an error page stating that it was deactivated.
A WORD ABOUT PRIVACY
While generic QR code generators are useful for multiple purposes, PingTag was designed with one purpose in mind: helping people create dynamic lost-and-found QR code labels quickly, easily and for free.
And privacy is at the heart of PingTag.
While the free Lite version allows anyone who scans your QR code to see your contact information, the Premium version protects your identity and contact information, as well as those of the person trying to reach you, while forwarding SMS messages between both of you anonymously using a patent-pending technology.
In other words, each QR code acts as a unique phone number for the item that you are attaching it to, and forwards text messages back and forth between two parties without revealing their phone numbers to each other.
Here is a video that shows how private communication works in PingTag.
And if one of your QR codes gets accidentally shared, you can either delete it, require people to verify their phone numbers with a one-time-password before messaging you, or block anyone who sends you an undesirable message from reaching you again.
In addition to privacy, PingTag Premium includes useful features like receiving SMS alerts with the geographic location as soon as one of your QR code label is scanned, assigning multiple emergency contacts to your label, and adding photos and important information to each tag’s page (for instance, you can offer a reward for returning your camera).
PingTag Premium is a one-time upgrade for life. No recurring subscriptions or monthly/annual billing ever.
And if for any reason, you don’t feel like creating your own lost-and-found QR code labels at home, you can purchase ready-made durable and waterproof stickers here.
