Many designs are meant to vary, as stone and wood do. Manufacturers state the degree with a V code, defined in the American standard ANSI A137.1 and used widely elsewhere.
- V0: very uniform, a single colour.
- V1: uniform appearance.
- V2: slight variation.
- V3: moderate variation.
- V4: substantial, random variation.
With V3 and V4, tiles from several boxes are mixed during laying so that the variation is spread across the surface.