Inverted QR Code Generator

What is an inverted QR code?

An inverted QR code is an ordinary QR code with its colors swapped: light squares on a dark background instead of dark squares on white. It is also called a reverse, negative or white on black QR code. It holds exactly the same data as the normal version, and the three big squares in the corners, which scanners use to find the code, are simply drawn in the light color.

The generator above draws the inverted code directly, dark border included, so you get a clean file rather than a normal code run through a color filter. Every result is read back twice before you download it, which matters because not every scanner reads inverted codes.

Will an inverted QR code scan?

Usually, but not everywhere. The QR standard, ISO/IEC 18004, allows light on dark codes, but reading them is an optional extra for scanners, so support varies. The open source ZXing library, which many scanner apps were built on, declined to read them for years because inverted codes are not part of the required spec.

• Phone cameras: many read inverted codes, but not all, and older phones are the most likely to fail.
• Scanner apps: it depends on the decoder inside. Some try both color schemes, some only look for dark on light.
• Shop, warehouse and ticket scanners: many are set up for dark on light only, so an inverted code at a till or a gate is a gamble.

That is why the scan check shows two results: whether the code reads in a scanner that understands inverted codes, and whether it reads in one that only reads dark on light. An inverted code should pass the first and fail the second. If your code has to work everywhere, download the normal version as well and use it where you cannot test.

When an inverted QR code makes sense

• Dark designs: black packaging, dark posters, menus and labels, where a white box around a normal code would break the look.
• Screens in dark mode: dark websites, apps and slides, where a light code sits naturally on the background.
• Light print on dark material: white ink on a dark T-shirt, a white vinyl cut on a dark window, chalk on a blackboard.
• Laser engraving: engraving dark anodized aluminium, slate or dark wood leaves light marks, so the engraved code comes out inverted whether you plan it or not.

Rules for an inverted QR code that scans

• Keep the contrast high. Use a light color close to white on a dark color close to black. Aim for a contrast of 7 to 1 or more; the generator shows the figure for your two colors and warns when it is too low.
• Keep the dark border on every side. A scanner finds a code by the margin around it. On an inverted code that margin has to be dark, at least four squares wide, in the same color as the background. If the code sits on a lighter surface, the dark tile you place must include that border.
• Invert the whole code, never part of it. A code where only some squares are swapped, or where the corner squares keep their old colors, will not read anywhere.
• Make it big enough. As a rule of thumb, a code scans from up to about ten times its own width, so a 3 cm code works from about 30 cm away.
• Print it carefully. In print, the light squares are usually unprinted paper and only the dark background takes ink, so make sure the printer does not spread ink into the squares. A thermal label printer can only print black, so print the dark background and leave the squares blank, or use a normal code; a BarTender user found a black code on a white panel the safer choice for labels.
• Test before you print in bulk. Scan the downloaded file with the phones your audience is likely to use, not just your own.

How to invert the colors of an existing QR code

Already have a QR code image? Open the Invert a QR image tab above and add it. The tool swaps every color in your image and reads the result, so you can see straight away whether the flipped copy still works.

• Normal to inverted: a dark on light code comes out as light on dark, ready for a dark design.
• Inverted to normal: if you have an inverted code that a shop scanner or an older phone will not read, flip it to get a normal copy that every scanner reads.
• Redraw it cleanly: when the code inside can be read, Redraw makes a sharp new code from the same text, which beats flipping a blurry photo or a low resolution screenshot.

Your image stays in your browser: it is read and flipped on your device, never uploaded.

Inverted, transparent and white QR codes: the difference

For the transparent kind, use the transparent QR code generator. It relies on your design being dark enough behind the code, while an inverted code carries its own dark background with it.

Related tools

Need a normal code with more types, such as WiFi, phone or email? Use the QR code generator. To read any code from a screenshot or photo, including inverted ones, try Scan QR Code Without Camera, and for codes that are faded or out of focus, the blurry QR code reader.