How should I read a photo print date code like 2010100212?
Asked 12/11/2020
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I have a print marked "1129 2010100212 Walgreens" on Fuji Crystal Archive paper. I’m trying to figure out the date shown in the code. Does "2010100212" mean 2010-02-12 or 2010-12-02?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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When dates are in the form using a trailing year such as 02/12/2010 there is an ambiguity between U.S. usage of month/day/year (Feb 12) and most of the rest of the world which uses day/month/year (Dec 2) in ascending order.
With a leading year such as 20100212, I have never seen an interpretation other than Year Month Day. So I would say Feb 12.
Originally by user77199. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user77199
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A code written like 2010100212 is most likely being read in year-month-day order, so the date would be 2010-10-02. In general, when the year comes first, the usual convention is YYYYMMDD (similar to the ISO-style date format).
That said, lab and camera date markings are not always perfectly consistent. If you have more prints from the same batch or processor, compare them and look for cases where one of the last two pairs is greater than 12; that can confirm which pair is the month and which is the day. Packaging from the photo lab may also help verify it.
So based on the code alone, the safest interpretation is October 2, 2010, not February 12 or December 2.
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