There is no universal format. Every brand invents its own. But across the 164 formats in our current catalogue, the lengths cluster tightly.
| Length | Format records |
|---|---|
| 3 characters | 18 |
| 4 | 24 |
| 5 | 21 |
| 6 | 25 |
| 7 | 15 |
| 8 | 12 |
| 9 | 9 |
| 10 | 15 |
| 11 | 9 |
| 12 | 12 |
| 13 or more | 2 |
3 to 12 characters covers almost everything. Of the 162 formats with a recorded length, 160 fall in that range. The remaining two records do not specify a fixed length. If what you are holding is a long digits-only string under the striped label, it is a barcode — see batch code or barcode?
It also cuts the other way. If you found something that is only two characters, keep looking; you have probably read part of a longer stamp, or picked up a mould number.
Several formats for one brand are normal in our catalogue: 37 of the 68 brands with listed format records have more than one. So a code that does not match the length listed on a brand's page is not necessarily wrong — it may be a format we have not catalogued yet. Send it over.
Lotly