In short
Linxy IQ produces one printable square carrying two working touchpoints: a visible code any phone camera can read, and an invisible Linxy Mark only the Linxy App can read. They are not two views of the same thing — each has its own destination.
The code side is simple: it resolves to one address. The marked-image side is a full Linxy Mark, reached through the short URL assigned to its mark record, which is why it carries the whole set of Mark capabilities — redirection, targeting, expiry, protection, analytics.
On this page
Two layers, one square
Most code generators produce one thing: a pattern that encodes a web address. Linxy IQ can do that, but its reason for existing is the other mode, where the background image you supply is watermarked as a Linxy Mark and a code is drawn on top of it.
The consequence is worth sitting with. The two layers are read by different tools and they lead to different places, so one object can serve a passer-by and a known member without looking any different — and without you printing anything twice.
The three modes
The mode you pick at generation time decides what the output can and cannot do later. It is not a cosmetic choice, and two of the three cannot be upgraded afterwards.
| Mode | What it produces | Can be secured or shielded later? |
|---|---|---|
| Make it Linxy | Your image watermarked as a Linxy Mark, with a code drawn on it, plus a Dynamic Link for tracking | Yes — this is the only mode that can |
| Short URL Only | Your image untouched, plus a code encoding a Dynamic Link, so interactions are still tracked | Shielding yes, securing no |
| Standard QR | A plain code encoding the address you typed, with no platform involvement at read time | No — and no analytics either |
Two destinations, and how to set them
In Make it Linxy mode the console gives you two address fields, one for each side of the object. This is the part worth understanding properly, because it is what makes Linxy IQ different from a code generator with a picture behind it.
| Field | Which side it sets | What that side can do |
|---|---|---|
| Target URL | The visible code | Resolves to one address. Straightforward and fixed in purpose — this is the public door |
| Linxy Mark URL | The invisible Mark | The ultimate destination for content, reached through the short URL assigned to the mark record. Because that short URL is a Dynamic Link, this side carries redirection and every other Mark function |
That asymmetry is the point. The code side is a single address. The marked-image side is a full Linxy Mark with a Dynamic Link behind it, so it inherits the whole toolkit — targeting by place, device and language, scheduled windows, expiry and scan limits, rotation, password or invited access, shielding, geofencing, and its own interaction data.
The Invoke App Clip checkbox does one thing only: it puts the App Clip address into the Target URL field, so the code invokes an App Clip instead of opening an ordinary page. It changes nothing about the Mark side, and you do not need it to get two destinations — that is how the product works by default.
Because the Mark side resolves through an ordinary Dynamic Link, everything in Redirection controls applies to it. Change its destination there and every printed copy follows immediately.
Code settings, and which ones matter
| Setting | Default | What it does, and when to change it |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 300 | Pixel dimensions of the square output. Raise it for print; 500 or more is sensible for anything that will be reproduced at physical size |
| Bit Size | 35 | How large each cell of the code is drawn. Larger cells read from further away but make the whole code bigger |
| Error Correction | 3 | How much of the code can be damaged or obscured and still read. Higher is more robust but consumes area. Raise it for outdoor, curved, or handled surfaces |
| Border Size | 2 | The quiet margin around the code. Do not set this to zero — readers need clear space to find the pattern at all |
| Code Color | Dark slate | Any color, but contrast against the background is what actually decides whether it reads. Light code on a light image is the single most common self-inflicted failure |
| White background | Off | Places the code on a solid white panel instead of directly on your image. Ugly, and occasionally the only thing that will read |
| Background image fit | Fill & Crop | How your image is fitted to the square: crop to fill, fit inside with padding, or stretch. Stretch distorts, and distortion is bad for the watermark layer |
| Invoke App Clip | Off | Puts the App Clip address into the Target URL field so the code invokes an App Clip. That is all it does — it is not required for the two sides to have separate destinations |
| Quantity | 1 | Generates several distinct records from one submission, each with its own identity |
Watermark tuning
The watermark tuning controls only appear in Make it Linxy mode, because they are meaningless without a watermark to tune. Two numbers and a strength value:
| Control | Meaning | Practical guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | How firmly the signal is pressed into the image, 1 to 10 | Start at 8. Busy photographic images tolerate high strength invisibly; flat pastel areas and skin tones show it first |
| WPI | Watermark cells per inch — effectively the reading distance the mark is tuned for | Lower values suit larger objects read from further away; higher values suit small objects read up close |
| PPI | The resolution the source is treated as having | Leave alone unless you know the physical output size and are matching it deliberately |
Getting files out
- PNG — the working file. This is the one to hand to a designer or drop into a layout.
- PDF — the generated image placed on a page, convenient for sending to a printer or proofing. It contains the same picture, not a redrawn vector version, so it is no more scalable than the PNG inside it.
- ZIP — several records downloaded together, which is what makes the Quantity setting useful.
Everything you generate stays in the Linxy IQ records list, where you can rename it, change where it points, toggle protection, or delete it. Changing the destination there changes it for every copy already printed — the code itself never has to be reissued.
When something does not read
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Camera cannot see the code at all | Too little contrast against the background image, or the border was reduced | Darken the code color, restore a border of 2 or more, or enable the white background panel |
| Code reads on paper but not on screen | Reproduced too small for the cell size in use | Increase Bit Size, or print larger |
| Code reads, but the App finds no Mark | The file was scaled down after generation, or the mode was not Make it Linxy | Regenerate at final size; confirm the record's mode |
| The App and the camera go to different places | Working as designed — the Target URL and the Linxy Mark URL are separate destinations | Set both fields to the same address if you want one destination |
| Watermark is faintly visible as texture | Strength too high for a flat or pale image | Lower strength, or use a busier background |
| "Only Linxy marks can be made secure" | The record was made in Short URL Only or Standard QR mode | Regenerate in Make it Linxy mode; the mode cannot be changed in place |
Things people commonly get wrong
Related reading: Securing and shielding a Linxy IQ code, Redirection controls, What is a Linxy Mark, and Types of Linxy touchpoint, and how to choose.