Mini yoga mats with a QR code

Cut pieces from a yoga mat with scissors. Put the QR code and a few words on each piece. Leave them at hotels as a physical ad. Below: 4 artwork layouts at real size, the ways to put them on, and print files.

Short answer. Do not draw the code by hand. Sharpie and projector tracing will smear and will not scan reliably. For the first 10–20 mats, get the code printed on waterproof stickers or hang tags at a print shop (about $5–15 total). If hotels like them, move to a rubber stamp or a screen print for a permanent, clean look.

1 · Artwork for the mat piece

This is what goes on the piece: code + words, black on the mat. All 4 codes are real — scan them from the screen. Each file is at real size.

**Square · 100 × 100 mm**Fits a palm-size piece. Good all-rounder.

**Strip · 70 × 180 mm**Long thin piece. Most words. Room for a hole or string at the top.

**Wide · 150 × 80 mm**Landscape. Code left, words right. Reads well lying flat on a desk.

**Mini · 70 × 85 mm**Smallest. Code and link only.

2 · Ways to put the code on

Method	Result	Cost (Siem Reap guess)	Notes
Printed hang tag on a band or grommet	Best start	~$0.10 per tag	Code is on paper/card, so it is sharp and scans every time. No mess. Laminate for water. Tie it to the piece through a punched hole.
Waterproof vinyl sticker	Good	~$0.20–0.50 each	Any sticker/sign print shop. Sticks well to smooth PVC mats. Peels on textured TPE or rubber — put it on the smooth back side.
Rubber stamp + solvent ink (StazOn type)	Good at 10+	~$5–10 for the stamp	Stamp shops make one from the mirrored file. Then 10 seconds per mat. Mat texture breaks the print — stamp the smooth side, press hard, test first.
Screen print	Best at 20+	~$10–20 setup, then cents	T-shirt print shops. Ask for flexible (plastisol or rubber) ink. Cleanest permanent result.
Vinyl paint mask + paint	OK, 1 per mat	~$0.30–1 each	Sign shop cuts the code in sticky vinyl. Stick it on the mat, dab fabric paint, peel. The loose inner pieces stay stuck to the mat, so the code stays exact. A reusable cut-out stencil does not work well: it needs bridges, and in my test the bridges stopped the code from scanning.
Heat-transfer vinyl	Test	~$0.50 each	T-shirt shops. Heat press can melt or dent foam. Ask for low heat and test one piece.
Projector + trace (your Nebula)	Avoid for the code	$0	Each square is only ~2.6 mm. Hand lines wander and the code fails. Use it only to trace the big words, not the QR.
Sharpie freehand	No	$0	Alcohol ink bleeds into mat texture and wipes off with sweat and cleaning spray.
Laser engraving	No on PVC	—	Laser on PVC gives off chlorine gas and damages the machine. On TPE/rubber the mark is low-contrast and scans badly.

3 · Rules that make the code scan

Dark code on a light mat. Choose a light, plain mat (sage, sand, light grey). Light-on-dark codes fail on some phones.
Size 7–8 cm. Smaller works for a phone held close, but bigger forgives bad printing.
White margin. Keep a blank border of at least 2 squares around the code.
Smooth surface. Put the code on the smooth side, or on a sticker/tag. Texture breaks the squares.
Test 3 phones (iPhone camera, Android camera, one old phone) before you hand any out.
This code uses error level Q: it still scans with about 25% damage. It is version 3 (29×29 squares).

4 · Files (print at 100%)

QR sizes + mirrored (A4)Artwork sheet: square + strip + mini (A4)Square Strip Wide Mini QR only · SVG QR only · PNG

Take the A4 files to a print shop on a phone or USB. The 100 mm bar on the sheet checks the print scale.

5 · First run plan

Buy one light, smooth PVC mat (~$10–15). Standard size 61 × 173 cm.
Pick one layout. Cut pieces with scissors a little bigger than the artwork. One mat gives about 40 square pieces or 24 strips.
At a print shop: 24 laminated hang tags + 24 waterproof stickers from the files above.
Scan-test every piece. Put 5 at hotels you know (front desk, gym, spa).
After 2 weeks: if people scan, order a rubber stamp or screen print for the next batch.

Optional: count scans per hotel

Give each hotel its own short link (for example bongclayton.com/m/navutu → /mat/?src=navutu) and print a different code for each. This needs a few redirect lines on bongclayton.com. I did not change the live site — it deploys from the server pipeline only.

A small upgrade: one redirect line /MAT /mat/ 301 lets the code use capital letters. That makes it a smaller 25×25 code with bigger squares — easier to stamp or stencil.

Optional: words on the mat

"yoga today · in Siem Reap" — the main hook.
"scan → every class on right now" — says what the scan gives.
Add "free to take" on the front-desk tiles so staff do not throw them away.

Built 2026-10-21 from a voice note. Prices are guesses — check at the shop.