Model-level or serialised QR codes: which does your product need?
If the code is there to give customers the manual, setup help, warranty registration and support, one code per model is enough. You need a serialised code, one per unit, only when the scan itself has to identify a single unit: to validate its warranty, help prove it is genuine or trace it.
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What is the difference?
A model-level code is the same on every unit of a model. It goes into the packaging or label artwork once, and it opens one page about that model.
A serialised code, also called a unit-level or per-unit code, is different on every unit. Each one carries or points to an identity for that single unit, and a database behind it knows which unit that is.
You may be told that you need serialised codes as a matter of course. That is right for some products and an expensive mistake for others. The choice turns on one question: does anything have to happen differently depending on which unit was scanned?
What does each one cost to run?
The two codes look alike on the box. Almost all of the difference is in the factory and the data. We don’t quote prices here, because they depend on your line, your volumes and your vendor; these are the jobs you would be taking on.
| Model-level | Serialised | |
|---|---|---|
| Artwork | One change to the box, label or insert artwork. The code prints with everything else. | A blank space in the artwork. The code is added unit by unit. |
| Production line | No change. | A printer or labeller that can print a different code on every unit, at line speed, with a way to catch unreadable codes. |
| Data | One record per model. | Codes issued in advance or at print time, each linked to a unit, a batch and often an order. Someone owns that database for the product’s life. |
| Stock already made | Add a sticker with the same code to every box. | Each sticker has to be unique and tied to its unit, which usually means opening or re-handling stock. |
| Contract manufacturers | Send them the artwork. | Each plant needs the equipment, the code supply and a way to send data back. |
| Spare cartons and misprints | No effect. Every carton carries the same code. | Used, damaged and rejected codes have to be reconciled. |
| Getting started | As soon as the page is ready and the next artwork or sticker run is printed. | A line project: vendor, trials, integration, then roll-out by plant. |
What does a serialised code give you?
- Warranty validation per unit. The system can check that this exact unit exists, when it left the factory and whether someone has registered it already.
- Help against counterfeits. A serialised code can reveal duplicates: the same code scanned in two cities, or a code that was never issued. A printed code can still be photocopied, so serialisation detects copying rather than preventing it. Real authentication often adds a hidden or tamper-evident element.
- Traceability. You can tie a unit to its batch, plant and shipment, and find exactly which units a defect or recall touches.
- Unit-level information. Service history or data specific to one unit can sit behind its own code. EU battery passports, covered below, work this way.
What does a model-level code give you?
- The same artwork for every unit. One file for the printer, with no variable data.
- No change on the line. Nothing new to buy, integrate or maintain in the factory.
- It works for stock you already have. A sticker with the same code can go on finished boxes. In India, keep such a sticker separate from the mandatory package declarations; see the Legal Metrology guide.
- An immediate start. You can test the page with one model before you print anything at scale.
What it can’t do matters just as much. The code cannot tell you which unit was scanned or whether this is the first scan, and it cannot prove a product is genuine, because every unit and any copy of it opens the same page. Anything you need to know about a specific unit has to come from the customer, usually as a serial number they type in.
Which should you choose?
Choose serialised if…
- your warranty decisions must be checked against production records at the moment of the scan;
- counterfeits are a measurable problem in your category, and you have someone to act on the alerts;
- you need to trace or recall by unit or batch from the code itself;
- a regulation for your product group sets the code or passport at item level;
- you already print a unique code or serial barcode on the line, so the factory work is mostly done.
Choose model-level if…
- the goal is fewer “where is the manual?” calls, better setup and easier warranty registration;
- you sell through several plants or contract manufacturers and can’t change all their lines;
- your batches are small or your catalogue is broad, so a line project is out of proportion;
- you have stock in the warehouse that needs a code now;
- your service team already accepts a serial number read off the rating plate.
Does a regulation decide it for you?
For most products today, no. Where the law does reach this question, it decides by product group, and it does not always ask for item level.
- EU Digital Product Passports. The Ecodesign Regulation says each delegated act will specify whether the passport is at model, batch or item level (Article 9(2)(d)), and its recitals weigh the costs of each level against the benefits. See Digital Product Passport vs digital manual.
- EU battery passports. From 18 February 2027, each light-means-of-transport battery, each industrial battery above 2 kWh and each electric vehicle battery placed on the market needs a passport holding information about the model and about the individual battery (Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, Article 77).
- India, Legal Metrology. The QR provisions for electronic products in the Packaged Commodities Rules don’t ask for a unique code per unit. They deal with which declarations can go behind a code. See the Legal Metrology guide.
Sector rules outside these are not covered here. If your category has its own traceability rules, follow those first.
Where ItemDocs fits, and where it doesn’t
ItemDocs is model-level. Each product model gets one permanent ID and QR code, and a page at itemdocs.com/i/<ID>. Colour variants with identical documentation can share it. There are no serialised or per-unit codes.
If you want the serial number, switch on the serial number field in warranty registration. The customer types it from the rating plate, and it appears in your registrations list and CSV export. It is what the customer typed and nothing more. ItemDocs doesn’t check it against your production records, doesn’t stop two people entering the same number and doesn’t decide claims. Your service team does that.
ItemDocs is the wrong choice if the scan must verify a unit. For that, look at these kinds of tool:
| You need | Look for |
|---|---|
| Proof that a unit is genuine | A product authentication or anti-counterfeiting platform |
| Unit and batch traceability from the line | Serialisation or track-and-trace software with line integration |
| Claim handling tied to verified units | A warranty management or field service system |
| A regulated passport | A Digital Product Passport service provider |
- Write down what should happen differently depending on which unit is scanned. If the list is empty, you don’t need serialised codes.
- Ask your service team how often a warranty claim fails because of a false or unreadable serial number.
- Ask each plant what it would take to print a unique code on every unit at line speed.
- Check whether a regulation sets the level for your product group.
- Try one model-level page first, and let what customers actually do decide the next step.
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