Glossary: QR Code Terms

Module
The smallest square unit in the QR grid.
Quiet zone
The white margin around the code; keep at least four modules of clear space.
Error correction (ECC)
Redundancy that allows recovery from damage. Levels: L, M, Q, H.
Finder pattern
The large corner squares used by scanners to locate and orient the code.
Alignment pattern
Smaller squares in larger versions that help correct geometric distortion.
Version
The grid size (modules per side), starting at 21×21 for Version 1.
DPI
Dots per inch for raster images. Vector SVG ignores DPI and scales cleanly.
Vector vs raster
Vector (SVG) scales without quality loss; raster (PNG) uses pixels and can blur when scaled.