QR Codes and Label Printing

QR codes & label printing

Give your items and locations printed labels with QR codes, so a quick scan jumps straight to the right record. Ideal for bins, drawers, shelves and asset tags.

Where to find it: an item's actions (Print label), and the batch label sheet in the Inventory tools, once the Label printing capability is enabled (Modular UI).

Per-item QR codes

Every item can produce a deep-link QR code — scanning it opens that exact item in Gubbins. Stick one on the thing itself (or its box) and you've got an instant link between the physical object and its record.

Writing to NFC tags

On a supported phone you can also write an item's link to a blank NFC tag — a cheap sticker you can hide inside a bin's lid or under a shelf. Open an item's Print label dialog and tap Write to tag, then hold a blank tag flat against the back of your phone until it saves. From then on, a tap of that tag opens the item in Gubbins, exactly like scanning its QR code — no line-of-sight, no camera, no need to find the printed label.

💡 Tip NFC shines where a camera struggles: a closed component bin, a densely-packed drawer, or dim light. Tap the outside of the bin and Gubbins opens the item inside.

ℹ️ Note Writing tags needs a device with Web NFC — currently Android phones using a Chromium-based browser (Chrome, Samsung Internet, Opera). The Write to tag button only appears where it's supported and the NFC tags capability is enabled (Modular UI); everywhere else, printed QR codes do the same job. See Camera scanning for reading tags back.

Batch label sheets

Need lots of labels at once? Gubbins lays out a printable A4 sheet of QR labels you can run off in one go — perfect for labelling a new storage system or a batch of assets.

💡 Tip Label your locations as well as items. A QR code on each shelf or bin means you can scan where you are and instantly filter to what should be there — a huge help during a cycle count.

ℹ️ Note Printed labels are independent of live camera scanning — they keep working whether or not the camera capability is enabled, and any phone camera app can open the deep link.

Choosing the address labels point to

A printed code carries a full web address, so a label is only useful if the device scanning it can reach that address. By default Gubbins uses whatever address you opened the app from — which is fine day to day, but a label printed from localhost, or from one machine's own network address, won't open on a phone.

Settings → Labels & QR codes → Link host sets the address printed codes point to instead. Leave it blank to use the current address, or enter a stable name every device can reach — for example http://gubbins.local. The preview underneath shows the exact link a code will carry, so you can check it before printing anything.

⚠️ Heads-up A QR code can only hold so much text. If the host you enter is long enough to push the link past that limit, Gubbins says so directly under the field — shorten the name or address and the warning clears. Labels printed while the warning shows would come out without a QR code.

Related pages

• Camera scanning — scanning the codes you print, and tapping NFC tags.
• Continuous scan & batch actions — processing many labelled items quickly.
• Locations & stock — labelling where things live.