Whether you are a manufacturer or someone who wants to encapsulate his or her own vitamin and herb combinations, the right capsule sizes make all the difference in the world for your final products. You don’t want to overfill a capsule, nor do you want to swallow a “horse pill” when it isn’t necessary.

There are many different capsule sizes in the supplement manufacturing industry, and here is a breakdown of what they are and what can fill them.

Starting with the largest of the capsule sizes, a 000 capsule is nearly 3cm tall and can hold up to 1370mg. The average fill weight of this capsule is 615mg for light fills, 960mg for medium fills, and 1370mg for heavy fills. Large combinations work well in this capsule because it is big enough to handle numerous dried herbal, vitamin, and mineral powders found in things such as homemade dietary supplements.

Naturally, the next size down in capsules is 00. This capsule is just over 2cm, and it can handle a light volume weight of 430mg, a medium volume weight of 665mg, and a heavy volume weight of 950mg. This size can be filled with powdered vitamin combinations, too, and many people find that making their own vitamin, mineral, and herb combos at home saves them money over store-bought brands.

Reducing even further in the standard capsule sizes, 0 capsules are about 2cm. The light, medium, and heavyweight volumes of this capsule are 305mg, 475mg, and 680mg, respectively. In standard measurement terms, you can fill seven 0 capsules with 1 tsp of powder. As such, these capsules can handle powdered combinations of dried ingredients, but they also work well with single ingredients.

How low can you go? Next on the size list is the 1 capsule. If you select 1 from the capsule sizes chart, you will see that it can handle the 225mg light volume, 350mg medium volume, and 500mg heavy volume. Standing at under 2cm tall, this capsule works better for fine-powdered single ingredients or combinations. The heavier the powder, the more space it fills inside the capsule, so keep that in mind.

At just over 1.5cm tall, or just over half-an-inch, the number 2 capsule is next on this list. It is even smaller than the 1 capsule, and it is a popular choice for fine fills of single dosage powdered medicines, vitamins, minerals, or herbs. Those choosing this option from the numerous capsule sizes look for a light volume fill of 165mg, a medium volume fill of 260mg, and a heavy volume fill of 370mg.

The smaller the sizes, the higher the capsule number, and size 3 measures at about 1.5cm. It’s just a little taller than that. In terms of volume, or how much you can put in this size capsule, the 3 will hold 135mg in lightweight fill, 210mg in medium weight fill, and 300mg in a heavy fill. For example, if you want to fill it with 300mg of Sleep Support powder, you could likely use this capsule size for your fill.

Next on the list of capsule sizes is the size 4. As you probably guessed, 4 is smaller than 3, so it can handle smaller doses of dry ingredients. When it comes to capsule size, 4 stands 1.5cm tall. When it comes to filling volume, you can fill your 4 capsule with 95mg of lightweight fill, 145mg of medium weight fill, and 210mg of heavy fill. Low dose combinations or single ingredients work well in 4.

Last but certainly not least of the sizes is the number 5. This tiny guy stands at just over 1cm tall, and he can handle single-doses of just about any powder. Using 5 for ingredient combinations doesn’t usually work well unless the individual ingredients are extremely low doses. Use 5 for a maximum light volume of 60mg, a medium volume of 90mg, and a heavy volume of 130mg. The finer the powder the better.

These are the standard capsule sizes and their volume capacity. Keep in mind the ingredients you wish to place in the capsules, whether they are a combination of things or single ingredients, and their end consistency, i.e. fine, medium, or heavy. The best way to determine which size capsule you need is to use a professional manufacturer’s capsule chart. This contains all the information for each size option, including the capsule pieces height and width and volume capacity.

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