QR Code Generation

From product catalogue to QR codes in one click

Every product with a GTIN gets a QR code. The platform generates GS1 Digital Link-encoded QR codes that point directly to your resolver — which handles content negotiation to serve the DPP document or product page depending on who is scanning.

No QR infrastructure project. No third-party service. No manual URL construction.

Batch generation across your entire catalogue

Select your products and generate QR codes in batch. Each code encodes the resolver URL with the product’s GTIN and optional serial number in the GS1 Digital Link format. Export as individual images, a CSV manifest for your packaging team, or a ZIP archive for bulk download. All files are stored in cloud storage with signed download URLs.

Built on GS1 Digital Link

The QR codes are not simple URL encodings. They follow the GS1 Digital Link standard, which means they carry structured product identification data — GTIN, serial, batch — within the URI itself. This is the format that EU regulatory bodies and the CEN/CENELEC technical standards specify for DPP data carriers (prEN 18220). When a market surveillance authority scans your product, the QR code speaks their language.

Connected to everything downstream

QR codes are not an isolated feature. They link to the resolver, which serves the signed DPP document or redirects to your DPP website. Scan analytics flow back into the reporting dashboard. The compliance assessment checks whether your products have QR codes generated. It is one step in the chain — and it takes seconds, not the months a traditional QR infrastructure project would require.

Why do Digital Product Passports need GS1 Digital Link QR codes?

The EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR 2024/1781) requires every product in scope to carry a data carrier that links to its Digital Product Passport. The CEN/CENELEC technical standard prEN 18220 specifies GS1 Digital Link as the format for that data carrier. This is not a recommendation — it is the standard that market surveillance authorities will use to verify compliance.

A GS1 Digital Link QR code is different from a standard URL QR code. It embeds structured product identification data — GTIN, serial number, batch number — directly in the URI. When a regulator scans your product, the code tells them exactly what they are looking at in a format their systems understand. When a consumer scans the same code, they land on your branded product page.

For a deeper look at the standard, see our guide on GS1 Digital Link explained and the anatomy of a DPP solution built on GS1 standards.

What QR code formats and exports are available?

Aura supports several export formats to fit different packaging and labelling workflows:

• Individual PNG images — download QR codes one at a time for manual placement in design tools or packaging artwork
• CSV manifest — a spreadsheet listing each product’s GTIN, the encoded GS1 Digital Link URI, and the download URL for the QR code image. Hand this to your packaging team or print house
• ZIP archive — bulk download of all generated QR codes as image files, ready for batch processing

All generated files are stored in cloud storage with signed download URLs. There is no file size limit on batch exports — whether you have 50 products or 5,000, the export completes and the ZIP is available for download.

Each QR code encodes the full resolver URI with the product’s GTIN and optional serial number. For example, a product with GTIN 5060512345601 encodes to a URI like https://resolve.aidpp.eu/01/05060512345601, which the GS1 resolver handles on scan.

How does batch QR code generation work?

Select the products you want to generate QR codes for — individually, by category, or across your entire catalogue. The platform generates all codes in a single operation. Each code is verified to encode the correct GS1 Digital Link URI before it is stored.

The workflow in practice:

1. Import your products with GTINs via the product data management module (CSV upload, web scraping, or conversational entry)
2. Select products in the QR code generator — filter by category, search by name, or select all
3. Generate — the platform creates GS1 Digital Link QR codes for every selected product
4. Export — download as individual images, CSV manifest, or ZIP archive
5. Apply — hand the files to your packaging team or integrate into your label design workflow

For products identified at batch or item level, the QR code includes the lot number or serial number in the URI path, aligning with the three DPP granularity levels defined in the ESPR.

What is the difference between a GS1 Digital Link QR code and a normal QR code?

A standard QR code encodes a URL — any URL. A GS1 Digital Link QR code encodes a URI that follows a specific structure defined by GS1, embedding product identification data (GTIN, serial, batch) directly in the path.

This matters for three reasons:

Regulatory compliance. The prEN 18220 standard specifies GS1 Digital Link as the data carrier format for DPPs. A generic URL QR code does not meet this requirement.

Machine readability. Supply chain systems, retail point-of-sale scanners, and market surveillance tools can parse a GS1 Digital Link URI to extract the GTIN and other identifiers programmatically. A generic URL requires custom parsing logic for every brand’s URL scheme.

Future-proofing. The GS1 Digital Link URI structure is an international standard maintained by GS1. It is the same format used across supply chain, retail, and logistics globally. Building your DPP data carrier on this standard means your QR codes are interoperable with systems beyond EU DPP compliance — inventory management, point of sale, product authentication.

How Aura helps

Traditional QR code projects for supply chain traceability take weeks or months: selecting a provider, integrating with product master data, setting up URI structures, configuring a resolver, and building analytics. Aura collapses this to minutes.

Your product catalogue is already in the platform. GTINs are already assigned (or auto-derived from UPC/EAN during import). The GS1 resolver is already provisioned. Generating QR codes is a single step that connects your products to the entire downstream chain: resolver, DPP pages, scan analytics, and compliance tracking.

The compliance assessment even checks whether your products have QR codes generated, so you can see the gap and close it in the same session.

Frequently asked questions

Do my products need GTINs before I can generate QR codes?

Yes. GS1 Digital Link QR codes are built on GTINs as the primary product identifier. If your products have UPC (12-digit) or EAN (13-digit) codes, the platform automatically derives the 14-digit GTIN. If your products do not have any GS1 identifiers, you can assign them through the product data management module.

Can I regenerate QR codes if my resolver domain changes?

Yes. QR codes encode the resolver URI, so if the domain changes, the codes need to be regenerated. However, resolver domains are set once during account provisioning and do not change under normal circumstances. If a domain migration is needed, batch regeneration covers your entire catalogue in a single operation.

How do I get QR codes onto my product packaging?

Export the QR codes as a ZIP archive or CSV manifest and provide them to your packaging design team or print house. The CSV manifest maps each GTIN to its QR code image URL, making it straightforward to integrate into automated label printing workflows. Aura generates the codes — the physical application to packaging follows your existing labelling process.

Are the QR codes compatible with retail point-of-sale scanners?

Yes. GS1 Digital Link QR codes are designed to be scanned by both consumer smartphone cameras and professional barcode scanners. The GS1 standard is widely supported in retail and logistics systems. A point-of-sale scanner can extract the GTIN from the URI just as it would from a traditional barcode.