A color QR code on a physical medium — it actually reads!

Mihail Kashkarov — Sat, 04 Apr 2026 16:09:23 +0000

But physical printing (CMYK) usually ruins everything. RGB channels partially bleed and mix, crosstalk starts, and the scanner goes crazy.

My approach
I've been working on a "spectral response normalization" model. The key isn't the paint or the material, but a color model that mimics RGB logic in a subtractive printing environment.

I'll admit: I haven't done a proper paper print yet. Instead, I painted the first prototype with acrylics on canvas. How about that? 😉

The result
3 different links inside one code — and it actually scans! On the website, I used Adaptive Thresholding (Bradley) to handle the visual noise.

What I need from you
Your thoughts and advice

The scanner works great directly from the screen

If you're feeling adventurous — try printing the code by matching the colors to my model. There's a paper with details on Zenodo, and I'd be happy to answer any questions

This isn't the "invention of the century." Just a passion project to make something interesting. I'd love to hear your feedback!

Links
🔴 Live Generator + Scanner: https://astra31415926.github.io/QR.G.B.-ART/

📄 Scientific base (Model): https://zenodo.org/records/18895764

💻 Source Code: https://github.com/Astra31415926/QR.G.B.-ART

DEV Community: Mihail Kashkarov

A color QR code on a physical medium — it actually reads!