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RAL Color Standard
- klaussilveira 2y agoRAL8000 was very popular in the Bundeswehr.
- PaulHoule 2y agoSpot color has a place in my heart. I remember back in the early 1980s when every article in Scientific American had illustrations in black, white and one other color which varied with the issue. Up until 1974 they had the illustrator Rodger Hayward https://invention.si.edu/illustrating-amateur-scientist-scientific-american https://invention.si.edu/illustrating-amateur-scientist-scie... who would draw a laboratory setup including a stool and I knew he knew exactly how to build the stool.
- Daub 2y ago> who would draw a laboratory setup including a stool and I knew he knew exactly how to build the stool. I love that about illustrators. A decent illustrator is also simultaneously an engineer and a designer.
- sandworm101 2y agoAnd every good engineer was once also a decent illustrator. Such skills are less respected these days as we draw so many lines between art and engineering. Few if any recent engineering grads could freehand a simple image of a bird.
- adwi 2y agoOld Wired issues made great use of spot metallics, neons, and UV too.
- lelandfe 2y agoTheir “wrong theory:” https://www.wired.com/2014/09/wrong-theory/ https://www.wired.com/2014/09/wrong-theory/
- glhaynes 2y agoback in the early 1980s when every article in Scientific American had illustrations in black, white and one other color which varied with the issue Oh that sounds lovely! And potentially a useful memory aid: "I don't remember when I read it, but I think it was in a dark magenta issue…"
- Daub 2y agoDefining a colour is a perversely difficult task. Does the RAL system offer anything unique? Wikipedia tells us it is based on the CIELAB and expresses color in terms of it's hue, saturation and lightness. But does it have any advantage over (for example) the Munsell color space? Or is the difference between the two just a cultural thing, like Celsius and Fahrenheit? Hue is the beast in the box. How many other natural phenomena are expressed as terms, not degrees of intensity? I often imagine how much simpler color science would be if humans did not possess the ability to perceive hue difference. Indeed color would likely be perceived as too simple a phenomenon to warrent scientific enquiry.
- Rygian 2y agoI would guesst aht the added value of RAL is being a formal standard, such that it can be mandated by laws and regulations to paint things with a given RAL color. For example, refurbishing a building within a protected area (close to a historic monument is a typical scenario) will require the use of materials (paints, window frames, doors, blinds) coated with a specific subset of RAL colors, selected by a public body to match the intended scenery.
- Daub 2y agoThat seems to suggest that it is an alternative to Muncell, no better or worse. Muncell is the formal standard used to define the color of dental impamnts and beer, amongst other things.
- eropple 2y agoMunsell is similar, yes. RAL is conventionally used for varnishes, powder-coats, and (sometimes) general plastics. I'm not familiar with Munsell's attitudes towards use, though. RAL is notable in being pretty lax about casual use of their color system.
- myself248 2y agoI'd love a better understanding of the intellectual encumbrance of Pantone colors, and whether RAL colors are more free in that regard.
- clausecker 2y agoSpecial trick: if you want something to look like it was made in Germany, paint it in RAL colours. Works like a charm every time.
- Eduard 2y agoAnd as font, use DIN 1451 ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_1451 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIN_1451 ) ... or Tannenberg ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannenberg_(typeface) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannenberg_(typeface) ) for "retro" look.
- weinzierl 2y ago> "And as font, use DIN 1451" Yes > " ... or Tannenberg for "retro" look." No Only if with retro you mean a kitsch Hollywood version of Germany whose role model only existed for a few years - from 1935 until the Nazis banned Fraktur-style typefaces (like Tannenberg) because they deemed them too Jewish.
- chronogram 2y agoOh, other countries don't use RAL? Do you use something else? I find it so convenient to order something in a RAL colour to match the colour palette of a building, or to buy power sockets in RAL9010 to match the type of white wall.
- fiatpandas 2y agoI’ve used it in the US for powder coating spec a few times.
- crote 2y agoPantone.
- tarikjn 2y agoHistorically, Pantone & Munsell in the US of A. Pantone is really print-oriented, even if they've surfed on the brand to expand to fashion & cosmetics. That's why the standard Pantone PMS colors don't have whites. Munsell is more general purpose. But RAL & NCS are also used widely, and will probably both keep going up in popularity for reasons I outlined in my other comment on this thread.
- dim13 2y agoEven German flag is defined in RAL: RAL 9005 RAL 3020 RAL 1021
- niffydroid 2y agoI've recently clad my garden office in a composite cladding, the brand makes use of RAL. Makes it much easier to get the matching trim and silicone and even a touch up pen for any scuffs or scratches
- smm11 2y agoI had a very low volume bicycle manufacturing business some time back and relied exclusively on RAL for color choices. Coincidentally I was in graphic design at the same time and used Photoshop color management for publications. Now I make my monitors and phone screens dark because I'm tired of staring into lights.
- pettycashstash2 2y agoMy first exposure to RAL was working as a consultant for a European fenestration company in the US ( ecowindowsusa.com). I got to know the color wheels intimately. The European uPVC, Aluminum and wood windows and doors are out of this world in terms of performance and features. It seems everyone liked RAL 9005 ( Black ) or RAL 7016 ( Anthracite grey ). As a curious fact, it turns out that Poland is a world leader in window manufacturing, with a 16.1% share of global exports and an average export value that increases 18% per year.