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A Satyakod Private Code is a 2D code in your brand’s own design. Only Satyakod can read it, so counterfeiters cannot copy its meaning or make new ones. Each code carries a unique, signed serial: when someone scans it, Satyakod checks that the serial is yours, was issued, is not revoked and is not being copied. Generic barcode and camera apps cannot read Private Codes. This is intended. Every label prints the address of your scanner page, and that page reads the code.

How a scan works

Nothing is installed: the scanner page works in the phone’s browser. The page sends images while the camera looks at the code and stops as soon as a code is read, usually within a second.

What the verdicts mean

Designing and approving a code

In Code Studio, start from a template and set colours, size and print method. Before a design can go to production:
  • the reliability score must be 90 or more, and
  • the scan test must read 12 of 12 test scans on each device class: low-end Android, iPhone and rugged scanners. Satyakod prints your design at its minimum size, photographs it as each device would and reads it.
Both a Brand admin and a Packaging engineer approve each version. Changing a setting creates a new version, which needs a new scan test.

Printing best practices

Size

Use at least the sizes below. They are measured with the scan test on budget Android phones, which are the hardest devices to read with. Bigger is always easier to scan. If the space allows, 15–20 mm gives a comfortable margin. On a standard 50 × 30 mm Zebra label, the code is printed at 25 mm.

Colour and contrast

  • Dark code on a light background, always. A light code on a dark label cannot be read.
  • Aim for a contrast ratio of 7 : 1 or more. Near-black on white is best. Avoid mid-tone brand colours such as light grey, yellow or pastel blue for the code itself.
  • Don’t print the code over a pattern, photo or gradient.

Quiet zone

Keep at least 2 mm of plain background all round the code. No text, borders, folds or seams inside it.

Surface and finish

  • Matt finishes read best. Gloss and foil reflect light; if you must use them, test under shop lighting.
  • Keep the code on a flat face. On caps and tubes, keep it small compared with the curve, or use a flat label.
  • For laser etching on metal or plastic, check the etched marks are clearly darker than the surface around them.
Studio’s logo coverage should stay at or under 20% of the code. Larger logos reduce how much damage the code survives.

On the print line

  • Scan the first labels of every run with an ordinary phone, not only a rugged scanner. A print that reads on a budget phone reads everywhere.
  • Thermal printers: a worn ribbon, low darkness or high speed thins the dots. If first labels fail, raise darkness one step or slow down, and scan again.
  • Inkjet: clean the nozzles before the run; ink spread makes small codes unreadable.
  • Record voided labels when you mark a batch printed, so scans of those serials can be flagged.
  • Never reprint a serial on a second label. Two labels with one serial look like a copy and are reported as counterfeit when scanned far apart.

Scanning tips

Share these with retailers, mechanics, distributors and consumers.
  1. Open the address printed under the code, for example verify.yourbrand.com/scan, in the phone’s browser, and allow the camera.
  2. Hold the phone 10–20 cm from the code, so the code fills about a third of the frame, with the whole code in view, including the four round marks around it. Move closer for small codes.
  3. Hold the phone roughly square-on. A slight angle is fine.
  4. Make sure there is light on the code and no glare. Tilt the pack a little to move a reflection off it.
  5. Hold still for a moment. The verdict appears as soon as the code is read.

Troubleshooting

For your team: checking a code in the dashboard

Use Verify a code to check a Private Code with your computer’s or phone’s camera without counting it as a scan; see Overview and scans.