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Which RAL Colour Guide do I need?

What is the difference between RAL CLASSIC, RAL EFFECT and RAL Design System Plus?

RAL Classic

RAL Classic

RAL Classic has been the established global standard of colour for public institutions and private industry for more than 100 years, providing safety and signal colours and colours that meet DIN standards. The 216 modern shades are for verifying colour for paint and coatings by interior designers and craft manufacturers and for industrial design to communicate colour and standardise industry processes.

What are DIN Standards?

These are popular colour standards regularly used by industries, for example, in the colour coding of telecommunications cables.

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RAL EFFECT

RAL EFFECT

Water-based colour charts with an aqueous coating system for environmentally friendly paint colour production. These are ideal for paint and varnish manufacturers, with applications in interior design and architecture, product design and graphic design.

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RAL DESIGN SYSTEM Plus

RAL DESIGN SYSTEM Plus

This complete collection of 1,825 shades is an essential tool for creative professionals in architecture, design, industry, and the skilled trades. The Design System Plus colours are oriented towards the CIELab system and are ideal for industrial and product design and designed for ease of colour communication, creativity, and experimentation. With colour names shown in English, German, French, Russian and Chinese for international collaboration.

What is the CIELab system?

CIELab is the Commission Internationale de l'éclairage, or International Commission on Illumination, the international authority on light and colour spaces. The CIELab colour space displays colour as humans see it, through lightness and the unique colours red, green, blue and yellow, based on the results of laboratory-conducted colour-matching experiments.

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