RAL Classic is an industrial fan deck, not an interior fan deck
By Mark Kotterink · · 3 min read
In brief:RAL Classic began as an industrial standard, not an interior colour chart. What that means for your colour choice, and which RAL system is made for design.
Many people know RAL as "the colour fan deck". They pick up a RAL K5 to choose a colour for their interior. That is possible, but RAL Classic was not made for it. Those who know this choose better.
Born in industry
RAL Classic originated in 1927. The German Reichs-Ausschuss für Lieferbedingungen then fixed forty colours under the name RAL 840. The purpose was practical. Until then, manufacturer and buyer had to exchange colour samples to agree on a colour. From 1927 a number was enough. In 1961 the revised collection RAL 840-HR followed, with the four-digit numbering that still applies today. The collection has since grown to 216 colours.
The numbering betrays the origin. The first digit indicates the colour group: 1 yellow, 2 orange, 3 red, 4 violet, 5 blue, 6 green, 7 grey, 8 brown, 9 white and black. So do the names: Traffic white, Signal white, Traffic red, Signal yellow, Zinc yellow, Telegrey. These are colours for traffic signs, safety marking, military equipment, machines and cabinets.
What that means for the choice
RAL Classic is not an ordering of colours. It is a collection of agreements. The colours are not spread evenly across the colour circle. There are 38 greys and 30 yellows, but few light, low-chroma colours of the kind common in interiors. If you are looking for a soft pink or a muted blue-green, you will often find nothing suitable in RAL Classic. If you are looking for a grey for a switch cabinet, you will find ten.
That is not a shortcoming. It is the function of the system. RAL Classic is the standard for powder coating, industrial paints, plastic profiles and façade cladding. If you have a window frame, fence or machine coated, RAL Classic is the right choice. The coater has the colour in stock and the colour is defined worldwide.
For design: RAL Design
For architects and designers RAL introduced a second system in 1993: RAL Design. That is an ordering. Each colour has a seven-digit code for hue, lightness and chroma, based on the CIELAB colour space. The system contains 1,825 colours, evenly distributed. There you will find the soft pink and the muted blue-green. And the code shows you how two colours relate to each other.
A third system, RAL Effect, is intended for water-based paints and metallics.
Which fan deck for which purpose
- Coating, painting, window frames, machines: RAL Classic (K5, K7 or K6).
- Interior design, colour schemes, architecture: RAL Design (D2).
- Metallic and water-based systems: RAL Effect (E3 or E4).
If you choose an interior colour from RAL Classic, you limit yourself to an industrial palette. That can be a deliberate choice, for example because the window frames are already RAL 7016. But make that choice deliberately.
Want to know more about RAL? The online RAL Kleurtraining (RAL colour training, in Dutch) of the Nederlandse Kleurenschool explains the structure of RAL Classic, Design and Effect, and how to work with them.
Online RAL Kleurtraining – Nederlandse Kleurenschool
Sources: RAL gGmbH; colour data according to RAL. See also: The best-selling RAL colours.