QRators in Action: Permasteel Connects Print to Digital with QR Codes
QRators in Action brings together stories of brands that use QR codes to solve real business problems and improve the customer experience.
The California-based outdoor living company, Permasteel, sells products that often require more than a printed flyer or manual can provide.
Customers may need assembly videos, repair instructions, warranty information, promotions, or updated product details—all of which can change after printed materials are distributed.
Rather than reprinting materials whenever information changes, the company uses dynamic QR codes to link its printed materials to digital content that it can update as needed.
Table of Contents
About Permasteel
Permasteel was founded in 2004 as PerfectGlo and rebranded as Permasteel in 2005. Since then, the company has expanded its presence in the outdoor living market.
It offers a range of products, including gas grills, patio coolers, and garden beds.
Permasteel sells to both businesses and consumers across the United States, Canada, and around the world.
Keeping printed materials up to date with dynamic QR codes
Permasteel uses dynamic QR codes in its printed materials to connect customers to its website.
When customers scan the QR code, they can explore product information (details, pricing, shipping and returns, and warranty), images, video demos, digital manuals, social media promotions, and other important resources that are difficult to fully share through physical materials.
Because Permasteel's QR codes are editable, meaning they can change the links behind them, the team doesn't have to replace printed materials when the destination changes.
This is particularly useful as the company migrates its website from WooCommerce to Shopify: the same printed QR code can continue working while its destination is updated behind the scenes.
Inside Permasteel’s QR code strategy
Joseph Gwen, Permasteel’s Business Development Manager, shared the problems the team was trying to solve and how QR codes became part of their strategy.
Can you tell us about Permasteel and what you do?
“We’re an outdoor living brand. We manufacture gas grills, patio coolers, and garden beds. We sell primarily in the United States, but we do sell globally as well.”
How does Permasteel use QR codes across its printed materials?
“We print QR codes onto our promotional material, both for educational purposes in terms of assembly videos, how-to videos, and repair videos.
We also use it for campaigns. So, when we're running promotions or any kind of social media campaign that needs printed materials, we can just quickly print the QR code on them, and then it'll redirect customers.
In terms of printing, the use of QR codes is continuous. Even if they have already been printed and in distribution, being able to quickly adjust the links on the fly through the dashboard has been very valuable to us.
I am currently working on migrating our WooCommerce website to Shopify. And so we'll probably use the dashboard on QR TIGER to adjust some of the links on those QR codes.”
What have QR code analytics taught you about customer engagement?
“I think QR codes have been very valuable, especially the analytics. One of the campaigns we're running this year has about 1,021 scans.
Primarily, the data helps us understand our seasonality, especially for our products. Summer is our main campaign, our main busy season, especially May, June, and July, and that aligns with the metrics that we're seeing on QR TIGER itself.
And it's especially valuable because, when we run those printed campaigns, having a discount code that customers either have or don't have means they can just pull up their phone and scan it. It has been invaluable and has likely increased conversions.
I can't speak to the exact numbers, but we do get a lot of inquiries specifically about that promotion that we're running.”
Would you recommend QR TIGER to other businesses?
“I would definitely recommend it. The ease of use, being able to manage everything from a single dashboard, having all the data there, and the dynamic URL changes are pretty invaluable. QR TIGER would be a pretty valuable tool for any company that needs QR codes.”
What Permasteel learned from using dynamic QR codes
From static print to adaptable assets
The ability to update QR code destinations means Permasteel doesn't have to treat printed materials as disposable whenever its digital content changes.
Rather than replacing printed materials that link to its website, the team can update the QR code destinations to point to the new site.
From scan data to seasonal planning
The 1,021 scans from a single campaign provided Permasteel with another source of customer engagement data.
The scan activity also aligned with Permasteel's May–July busy season. Data-driven marketing allows the team to understand when customers engage with its campaigns.
While Permasteel doesn't currently attribute a specific increase in conversions from its QR campaigns, Gwen notes that the company receives inquiries tied to its promotions.
What businesses can learn from Permasteel’s experience
Permasteel's experience shows that the value of a QR code isn't limited to what happens when someone scans it.
For the company, the bigger advantage is the flexibility behind the code: printed materials can remain in circulation while the digital content they lead to evolves.
Permasteel's experience offers four practical takeaways:
1. Connect print to content that changes: Printed materials don't need to contain every piece of information themselves. Use QR codes to connect customers to digital content that can be updated over time.
2. Build flexibility into long-lived materials: Dynamic QR codes allow businesses to change destinations without replacing the printed code.
3. Use scan data to understand engagement: QR analytics can help businesses understand when customers interact with printed campaigns and identify engagement patterns over time.
4. Treat QR codes as more than promotional links: QR codes can connect customers to product information, educational content, manuals, repair videos, and other support resources—not just promotional offers.
Final thoughts
Permasteel had a problem: its printed materials couldn't keep pace with changing digital information.
With dynamic QR codes, printed materials can stay useful, adaptable, and connected to whatever customers need at the moment.
This flexibility is especially valuable as Permasteel moves from WooCommerce to Shopify, extending the useful life of printed materials already in circulation.
Other businesses that rely on printed materials can use QR codes to connect those materials to digital content that changes over time.
See how dynamic QR codes can help you get more from your printed materials. Book a demo with QR TIGER to explore what's possible for your business.
