Why does the DOM markings on my FS-100 not match the marking standard?


NOTE: This information applies to FS-100 manufactured before September 2014. The DOM format has been changed to numbers indicating manufacturing month and year on products from September 2014 and forward , Please note for FS-100 manufactured after October 2021 the DOM printing location has been moved to the front of the tin for easy readability.

According to the marking standards for the Date of Manufacture (DOM) on the FS-100 Tip Polishing Paste, the letter representations for YEAR should cycle through the letters 'A' through 'K' and the MONTH should cycle through the letters 'A' through 'M'. In both cases, the letter 'I' should be skipped due to legibility issues.

During production, the system for marking failed to skip the letter 'I' and reset to the letter 'A'. As a result, some FS-100 containers were marked with an incorrect pattern. This incorrect pattern can be decoded as follows:
YEAR:
A through H = Years ending 2001 through 2008
I = 2009
J = 2010
K = 2011
L = 2012
MONTH:
A through H = January through August
I = September
J = October
K = November
L = December
This failure of the system for marking has been corrected and products January 2013 forward will follow the normal marking standards.