Type size

A maximum density

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The table Which closes the obvious workaround And it has a side effect this library cares about Compare the topicals property directly Here the fit is exact Same question, two regulations, one answerable The density tightens as the type grows Which inverts the usual intuition And it is still easier on a bigger container It is a ceiling, not a target References

A minimum height can be defeated by condensing. A maximum density cannot.

The table

For a minimum type size of 1 millimeter, a maximum of 40 characters per inch. For 2 millimeters, 25. For 3 millimeters, 12.

Which closes the obvious workaround

A rule that specifies only a letter height can be met with a heavily condensed face, producing type that is technically tall enough and unreadable. A density ceiling stops it.

And it has a side effect this library cares about

A maximum characters per inch IS a width. So the regulation supplies the one number a packaging catalog can never supply.

Compare the topicals property directly

There, 21 CFR 740.2(a) gives a 1/16 inch floor and nothing about width, so the pages state the character count and the panel dimensions and refuse to compute a fit, because character width is a typeface property.

Here the fit is exact

283 characters at a maximum of 25 per inch is at least 11.32 inches of line. No typeface assumption, no invented constant, no estimate.

Same question, two regulations, one answerable

Which is the cleanest illustration in the library of why the drafting of a rule decides whether a catalog can help with it.

The density tightens as the type grows

40 per inch at 1 millimeter, 25 at 2, 12 at 3. So the allowance falls faster than the height rises.

Which inverts the usual intuition

A bigger container needs MORE inches of warning line, not fewer: 7.08 inches in band one, 11.32 in band two, 23.58 in band three.

And it is still easier on a bigger container

Because circumference and height grow faster than the requirement does. The absolute number rises and the difficulty falls.

It is a ceiling, not a target

Fewer characters per inch is always permitted. The number is the tightest you may set, which is the number to compute against.

References

27 CFR 16.22(b): "(b) Size of type. (1) Containers of 237 milliliters (8 fl. oz.) or less. The mandatory statement required by Sec. 16.21 shall be in script, type, or printing not smaller than 1 millimeter. (2) Containers of more than 237 milliliters (8 fl. oz.) up to 3 liters (101 fl. oz.). The mandatory statement required by Sec. 16.21 shall be in script, type, or printing not smaller than 2 millimeters. (3) Containers of more than 3 liters (101 fl. oz.). The mandatory statement required by Sec. 16.21 shall be in script, type, or printing not smaller than 3 millimeters." The accompanying table gives the maximum number of characters per inch for each type size: 40 at 1 millimeter, 25 at 2 millimeters, 12 at 3 millimeters. law.cornell.edu

Computed from published values only. The statement required by 27 CFR 16.21 is 283 characters including spaces and punctuation. 27 CFR 16.22(b)(2) covers containers over 237 mL and up to 3 L, where the type must be at least 2 millimeters and the accompanying table permits at most 25 characters per inch. 283 divided by 25 is 11.32, so the statement requires at least 11.32 inches of line. On the Davis Pack Supply beer shelf, measured 19 October 2026, diameter is recorded on 124 of the 145 containers and runs 1.95 to 3.86 inches with a median of 2.71; the circumference of the median container is therefore about 8.52 inches, the smallest about 6.13 and the largest about 12.13. All 145 containers fall in band (2), none being 237 mL or less and none exceeding 3 L.

Written from 27 CFR 16.21 and 16.22 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. This catalog holds no crown cap, swing top, cork, champagne hood or can end, so it cannot close a carbonated beverage and this property says so rather than selling around it. Nothing here addresses brewer's notice, permits, formula approval, excise tax, label approval, net contents or alcohol content statements, or state law. The placement requirement in 16.21 is described rather than quoted, because no verbatim rendering of it was obtained.