Shade Variations of Porcelain Tiles Explained

What is Shade Variation?

Shade Variations of Porcelain Tiles

Shade Variation: The scale of a porcelain tile, which indicates the amount of differing tones, markings and/or colours of the tile surface finish.

Variations provide a porcelain tile with a unique identity. By using advanced print and mould making technology, manufacturers can create stunning porcelain tiles by creating hyper-realistic surface tones, markings and textures which mimic a range of natural materials including; stone, timber, terracotta, cement, mosaic, marble and more.

Categories of Shade Variations

At Surface 360, we offer a 4-variation scale for all of our interior and exterior porcelain tile ranges. There is not a right and wrong answer to shade variation – it’s all about personal taste and buying options.

V1 - Uniform Appearance

V1 tiles have very little differing tones and shades within each tile and between tiles within the same batch. Plain stone-effect tiles, timber decking-effect tiles and cementitious-effect tiles are all good examples of uniform finishes.

Although V1 is a minimal design, many people have got creative and paired two colours of the same range together to create a contrasting floor showcasing either boarders, boundaries, walkways, chequered and more.

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V2 - Slight Variation

As the name suggests, V2 tiles have slight variations within their design. There are many tile designs for V2 with options including natural quartz stone, grained timber and cementitious styles.

With a range of sizes and colours also available, it is truly up to your imagination to utilise these ranges to create something unique to your area.

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V3 - Moderate Variation

In the same case of V2, V3 tiles categorise a lot more timber, stone and terracotta-effect tiles offering you a larger range to choose from. Within each tile there will be a noticeable degree of variation according to colour tones, markings and texture.

For example, the tile range Arbortek has a lovely timber-effect finish, which boasts visible wood grain and knots throughout each tile, while offering 4 colour variations to complement either a contemporary office or an oak log cabin.

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V4 - Substantial Variation

If you’re looking for a tile range which is super unique and standout, then V4 is what you should be looking at. These tile ranges tend to work best over larger areas.

Some of the tile ranges in V4 are appropriate for verticals and walls, which are ideal for creating a fully wrapped interior or even outdoor steps. Alternatively, get the creative juices flowing with our mosaic range and utilise linear lines, arches and block colour.

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Variations Between Manufacturer Batch Numbers

Every Batch is not a Perfect Match

Having spoken a lot about variation between different tile ranges, we now need to focus on the production of an individual tile range.

Each tile range is produced in batches and while every measure is put in place to produce identical batches, from time to time product development and formulation changes by the manufacturer can occur.

Therefore, one batch produced in January may be slightly different to one produced in June the same year.

Fortunately in the V3 and V4 categories it would be hard to spot any significant difference between two batches. However in the V1 and V2 categories, a minor change may be more visible than you wanted.

At Surface 360 we do not promote over-purchasing for your projects, but we would like to make you aware that on larger projects, please think about ordering enough tiling in a single purchase from the same batch rather than cost-splitting over a few months in different batches.

Shade Variations of Porcelain Tiles Explained

What is Shade Variation?