QR Codes – The Fun Way to Send a ‘Postcard’ Home

Do you remember the days of sending a postcard home from your holiday? Do you recall receiving one, sometimes weeks after the sender had returned, the tan had faded and the straw donkey had been stashed away in the attic? Those were the days.

Postcards do hold a certain charm. But could they be considered a bit of a waste of resources? Paper, ink, air miles. It can all add up when millions are sent each year. Which is why we’re here to tell you about an alternative way to send a message home from your holidays… we’d like to share with you the concept of a QR code postcard.

Historical fact alert…

Postcards were first introduced to Britain in 1870. Commissioned by the British Post Office, the cards bore an imprinted halfpenny stamp that covered the price of postage.

In 1871, around 75 million postcards were sent in Britain, and volumes increased vastly to over 800 million by 1910 when King Edward VII’s reign ended. But they were more about the words than the pictures we all associate with postcards today.

Privately produced illustrated postcards weren’t accepted by the Post Office until 1894. And even these weren’t quite what we’re used to these days, with an entire side given over to the address, and the message having to be squeezed alongside the picture on the other.

By 1902, however, the postcard was looking more like we know it today, with the address and message on one side, and the whole of the other made up of a picture.

It’s not clear how many postcards are sent every year these days, but it’s reckoned to still be several million, despite the rise of digital communication. In fact, the UK sends more cards than any other country.

Postcards – a question of ethics?

Much as they have their charm, postcards do pose a serious question of ethics in terms of paper waste. After all, what do we do with them once we’ve read them? And what about the ink and the resources involved in getting them from sender to reader?

But it’s still nice to send a greeting to your loved ones when you’re away. Whether it’s to let them know you’re having a whale of a time and the weather is scorchio. Or that the food is rubbish, the hotel is naff and the kids miss Nan and Grandad. Or basically just to gloat whilst you lap up the rays, cocktail in hand, as everyone back home huddles round their hot chocolate whilst the rain lashes down on the windows.

The fact is that it’s fun to send a postcard home. But it doesn’t have to be a paper one. Instead, why not send digital greetings via a postcard QR code?

Why postcard QR codes?

QR codes have plenty of capacity, so you can pretty much pack them out with whatever you want. From a personal written message, single photo or photo gallery, to a personal video message or full-on mini-movie showing clips of you and your family or vacation buddies having the best time ever, there’s little to hold you back.

Why not sing the folks at home a song, or recite a Limerick? Do whatever takes your fancy, whatever you find most fun.

The great thing about creating a QR code postcard is that you can send what you want, how you want. Here’s why that’s cool…

Say you wanted to send a photo gallery or video to the folks back home, how would you do that without sending your phone into a buffering spin? There are only so many megabytes you can send in a text message after all. Even emails have their limits. And there’s always that overseas data allowance to keep an eye on too.

But with QR code digital holiday cards, there are no limits. Because all you’re sending is the code itself, which really is just the size of a small picture. All the fun stuff is embedded into it.

The code can be sent any way, by email, text or WhatsApp. We wouldn’t recommend sharing them on social media though, just in case someone outside your circle who’s less than trustworthy clocks you’re away.

So you’re thinking, if I get a postcard QR code sent to me by text or WhatsApp, how do I scan it without using another phone? Well it’s actually a piece of cake, as you can use your phone’s camera app to scan a QR code that’s on your own screen. You can also use Google Lens, or a third party QR code scanner.

Ready to send your personalised greeting with a QR code postcard?

Ban.gl personalised message QR codes are a fun way to keep in touch with loved ones while you’re away. Taking the place of printed postcards, and driving down paper waste in the process, a postcard QR code is the responsible way to send your greeting.

Ban.gl QR codes are dynamic, multilingual and fully customisable. And our pricing plans are a breeze to navigate.

Reducing the paper waste crisis and making a contribution to global sustainability is important to us. And that’s why we’ve chosen to reward our customers by planting two trees on your behalf for every Ban.gl purchased.