Four QR code laser marking machines
A QR code is a grid of small squares. What decides whether it reads is contrast and edge sharpness — so HeatSign matches the machine to the material, not to the code.
QR Code Marking · Metal · Plastic · Glass · PCB
QR Code Laser Marking Machines
QR code laser marking has to pass a test that factory codes do not: a customer's phone, in poor light, at any angle. HeatSign sets each machine for your material, so the code reads the first time.
Desktop Fiber Laser Marking Machine · 20W / 30W / 50W
The standard QR code laser engraver
Price Range : $1950 – $3000
This covers most of the work: steel, stainless, coated metal and bare aluminum. A fixed table, a repeatable focus and no consumables. If your parts come to a bench and they are steel, start here.
Marking area 110 × 110 mm, larger on request
Air cooled | QR, Data Matrix, serials and text from one file
Air cooled | QR, Data Matrix, serials and text from one file
Steel . Stainless . Coated metal . Nameplates . Tools
HS-FL100M · MOPA Fiber Laser Marking Machine · 100W
A bench machine with finer control
Price Range :$5,300 – $6,800
The same size and shape as the desktop machine, but the laser inside can be tuned more finely. That is what makes a true black on anodized aluminum, where a standard machine only leaves pale grey. It also handles copper and brass.
Adjustable pulse | True black on anodized aluminum
Copper, brass and other reflective metals
Copper, brass and other reflective metals
Anodized aluminum . Copper . Brass . Consumer products
UV Laser Marking Machine · 355nm · 5W / 10W
For plastic, glass and boards
Price Range : $3,000 – $5,900
A 355nm beam marks with light rather than heat, so a plastic housing does not melt at the edge of the code. Line width goes to 0.01 mm, which lets a readable QR code fit on a small component.
Line width to 0.01 mm | Cold marking, no melted edges
Plastics, glass, ceramics, PCB | Sharp squares, not blurred ones
Plastics, glass, ceramics, PCB | Sharp squares, not blurred ones
Plastics . Glass . PCB . Ceramics . Small parts
Portable Fiber Laser Marking Machine · 30W / 50W
When the part will not fit on a bench
Price Range : $1,950 – $3,800
The head goes to the part instead of the part going to the machine. Used as a metal QR code printer on large panels, frames, tanks and anything already built into an assembly.
Head carried to the part | Adjustable working distance
Large panels, frames, castings, welded assemblies
Large panels, frames, castings, welded assemblies
Large panels . Frames . Tanks . Assemblies
One code, four surfaces, four settings. A phone has to read all of them, so each one is set up on its own.
QR code or Data Matrix, and who scans it decides
The two codes look similar and hold similar data. The real difference is the device that reads them, and HeatSign sets the machine differently for each.
QR code
Read by a phone, in the customer's hand
Three big squares in the corners let a phone find it fast, from any angle.
- Holds up to 7,089 digits or 4,296 letters
- Used when the customer is meant to scan it
- Links to a manual, a warranty page, a spare parts list
- A phone camera is the hard test — poor light, any angle, no focus aid
- Needs bigger cells and stronger contrast than a factory code
Data Matrix
Read by a factory scanner, in good light
An L-shaped border instead of corner squares. Fits more data into less space.
- The industrial standard for direct part marking
- Specified by AIAG, UDI and MIL-STD-130
- Fits on parts where a QR code will not
- Read by a purpose-built scanner with its own lighting
- Can be smaller, because the reader is better
The practical rule. A code meant for customers should be a QR code. A code meant for your own line can be a Data Matrix in half the space.
Not sure which code you need? See QR code vs Data Matrix → · Marking 1D barcodes as well? See barcode marking machines →
QR code laser engraving, material by material
Laser etch QR code work gives a different result on every surface. What matters for a QR code is contrast, because that is what a phone camera struggles with.
Marked, then scanned with a phone
Not a demo scanner and not perfect lighting. If a normal phone reads it across a workshop, it will read it at your customer workshop.
Material | How the QR code comes out | Machine |
|---|---|---|
Stainless steel | Deep black against a bright surface, without cutting in. The best contrast of any bare metal, and the easiest for a phone to read. | |
Anodized aluminum | A standard laser leaves pale grey, which phones often miss. The HS-FL100M makes it true black, and that is usually the whole difference. | |
Coated and painted metal | The coating comes off and the metal shows through. The strongest black and white of any surface. | |
Copper and brass | The hardest metals. They send most of the beam back and carry heat away before a mark forms, so the squares come out uneven. | |
PlasticsABS, PC, PVC, nylon | A fiber laser melts the edge of each square, so the code blurs. A cold UV beam keeps the corners sharp, which is what a scanner needs. | |
Glass and ceramics | Frosted white on a clear surface, with clean edges and no cracking. | |
PCB and electronics | Very small codes on very small areas. The board does not scorch and the copper traces stay safe. |
What people put QR codes on
Product | What the QR code links to | Who scans it |
|---|---|---|
Machines and equipment | Manual, spare parts list, service history | Technician, on site |
Tools and assets | Asset record, calibration date, owner | Staff, during a stock check |
Consumer products | Warranty page, registration, how-to video | The customer, at home |
Spare parts | Reorder page, fitting instructions | Repairer, in a workshop |
Nameplates and labels | Certificates, compliance documents | Inspector, during an audit |
Electronics and PCB | Batch, test record, firmware version | Line scanner or phone |
Why a phone will not read your QR code
Four reasons a code that looks right on the part fails when someone points a phone at it.
10–30 mm: Usual size for phone scanning
Bigger: Always safer than smaller
What HeatSign does
Ask who will scan it before we set the size. A code meant for customers is marked larger than one meant for your own line.
4 modules: Blank border, all four sides
Plain: No texture behind it
What HeatSign does
Lay out the code with its border included before quoting, so you find out at the drawing stage rather than after the first batch.
Matte: Frost the area first
Or tilt: Mark on a non-reflective face
What HeatSign does
Mark a matte panel behind the code so the surface stops acting like a mirror. It costs nothing extra and it is usually the whole fix.
355 nm: Cold marking for plastics
Sharp: Corners stay square
What HeatSign does
Use UV for plastics rather than turning a fiber laser down, because low power at the wrong wavelength still puts heat in.
How to choose a QR code laser engraving machine
Three questions. The first one decides more than the machine does.
QUESTION 1
Does the code change on every part?
Same on every unit → one saved file.
A serial each time → ask about data import.
QUESTION 2
What is the part made of?
Steel or stainless → desktop fiber.
Copper or anodized → MOPA.
Plastic, glass or PCB → UV.
QUESTION 3
Can the part come to the machine?
Yes → a bench machine.
No → a portable head carried to the part.
Buy the cheaper machine if it does the job.
The HS-FL100M costs more because it handles copper and anodized aluminum. If you only mark stainless steel, the desktop machine does the same job for less.
We will tell you which one you are.
Still not sure which one you need?
Tell us your material and who will scan the code. We will say which machine fits — and which one you do not need.
Questions about QR code laser marking
Can we change the web page a QR code opens?
Can we change the web page a QR code opens?
Not the code itself. Once it is marked, it holds that address forever.
But you can change what the page does. Mark your own web address, like yoursite.com/m100. Later, make that page open something else. The code on the part never changes.
Mark a supplier’s address or a long link, and you are stuck with it.
Which error correction level should we use?
A QR code carries spare data so it still reads when part of it is damaged. You choose how much: L recovers about 7%, M 15%, Q 25% and H 30%.
More spare data means more squares, so the code either grows or each square gets smaller. For a part that gets handled, M or Q is the usual choice. H is for parts that get scratched.
Can we mark a code on a black or dark part?
Yes. The squares come out light and the background stays dark — the reverse of a normal code.
Phones read that. You do not have to change anything.
Some older factory scanners need this turned on in their settings. If a factory scanner will read your codes, test one part first.
Can one file put the code and the text on together?
Yes, and that is how most shops run it. The code, the part number, a logo and a date all sit in one file and go on in a single pass.
It also keeps them matching. When the code and the printed number come from the same data, they cannot disagree.
How fast is one code?
A small code on metal is usually a second or two. What drives the time is the number of squares and how finely you fill each one, not the power of the machine.
If you are pricing per piece, send the exact code content and the finished size and you will get a real cycle time instead of an estimate.
Is it safe to run in an open workshop?
These are Class 4 lasers. They need an enclosure or a screened area and proper eye protection, and nobody should be near the beam path while it runs.
Marking metal also makes fine particles, so extraction is normal practice. Tell us where the machine will sit and we will say what you need.
Do we need a computer to run it?
Not always. Some machines have a screen and a keyboard built in, so the operator picks a saved job and presses start.
Others run from a PC with the marking software on it. That is better if your qr codes content come from a spreadsheet or a database every day.