RAL Design System plus — hue 190

In most hues of the green area the highest saturation lies at L\* 50. Not here: the maximum of C\* 45 is reached at L\* 40, with Dark teal, at an LRV of 14.0. That shifts the whole character of the hue downwards.

The practical consequence is that 190 has its strength in the dark part and not in the middle range. A surface in 190 40 40 Iguana green weighs, because lightness determines the perceived weight, and is at the same time saturated enough to be read as a colour and not as dark grey. That combination of weight and colour is rare in this part of the circle and explains the use of petrol on furniture, kitchen fronts, reception desks and steel cabinets.

C\* 45 is the ceiling, lower than the 55 and 60 of 160 and 170. From 190 onwards the system falls back gradually in how far it can be saturated, all the way to the blues. That is pigment technology: as the green-blue mixture shifts towards blue, the tinting strength achievable in an opaque coat decreases, and the dark shades turn grey rather than more saturated.

All 47 colours in this group

RAL 190 20 20 — Night turquoiseView RAL 190 20 20 →RAL 190 30 15 — Carriage greenView RAL 190 30 15 →RAL 190 30 20 — Stockade greenView RAL 190 30 20 →RAL 190 30 25 — Action greenView RAL 190 30 25 →RAL 190 30 30 — Myrtle deep greenView RAL 190 30 30 →RAL 190 30 35 — Plankton greenView RAL 190 30 35 →RAL 190 40 10 — Mud greenView RAL 190 40 10 →RAL 190 40 15 — Moor pond greenView RAL 190 40 15 →RAL 190 40 20 — Lush greenView RAL 190 40 20 →RAL 190 40 25 — Butterfly greenView RAL 190 40 25 →RAL 190 40 30 — Fashion blueView RAL 190 40 30 →RAL 190 40 35 — Office blue greenView RAL 190 40 35 →RAL 190 40 40 — Iguana greenView RAL 190 40 40 →RAL 190 40 45 — Dark tealView RAL 190 40 45 →RAL 190 50 10 — Storm greenView RAL 190 50 10 →RAL 190 50 15 — Dark turquoiseView RAL 190 50 15 →RAL 190 50 20 — Fir blueView RAL 190 50 20 →RAL 190 50 25 — Apatite blueView RAL 190 50 25 →RAL 190 50 30 — Egyptian greenView RAL 190 50 30 →RAL 190 50 35 — Ornamental turquoiseView RAL 190 50 35 →RAL 190 50 40 — Eyeshadow turquoiseView RAL 190 50 40 →RAL 190 50 45 — Clear turquoiseView RAL 190 50 45 →RAL 190 60 10 — Subtle turquoiseView RAL 190 60 10 →RAL 190 60 15 — Pale verdigrisView RAL 190 60 15 →RAL 190 60 20 — Goose pond greenView RAL 190 60 20 →RAL 190 60 25 — Tourmaline turquoiseView RAL 190 60 25 →RAL 190 60 30 — Baltic greenView RAL 190 60 30 →RAL 190 60 35 — Ceramic blue turquoiseView RAL 190 60 35 →RAL 190 60 40 — Baltic turquoiseView RAL 190 60 40 →RAL 190 60 45 — Tyrolite blue-greenView RAL 190 60 45 →RAL 190 70 10 — Marble greenView RAL 190 70 10 →RAL 190 70 15 — Jade greenView RAL 190 70 15 →RAL 190 70 20 — Spring water turquoiseView RAL 190 70 20 →RAL 190 70 25 — Florida turquoiseView RAL 190 70 25 →RAL 190 70 30 — Hygiene greenView RAL 190 70 30 →RAL 190 70 35 — Arctic greenView RAL 190 70 35 →RAL 190 80 10 — Andean opal greenView RAL 190 80 10 →RAL 190 80 15 — Cold turquoiseView RAL 190 80 15 →RAL 190 80 20 — Teal blueView RAL 190 80 20 →RAL 190 80 25 — Pool greenView RAL 190 80 25 →RAL 190 85 05 — Morning dew whiteView RAL 190 85 05 →RAL 190 85 10 — Bath salt greenView RAL 190 85 10 →RAL 190 85 15 — Capri water blueView RAL 190 85 15 →RAL 190 85 20 — Horizon blueView RAL 190 85 20 →RAL 190 90 05 — Cool whiteView RAL 190 90 05 →RAL 190 90 10 — Source blueView RAL 190 90 10 →RAL 190 93 05 — Egyptian whiteView RAL 190 93 05 →

More about hue 190

At the same lightness you see that difference immediately: 190 40 10 Mud green and 190 40 40 Iguana green sit at LRV 14.0 and 14.0 — measurably equal in lightness, and yet the one a grey-green and the other a colour. If you have the wrong expectation of intensity in this hue, the answer lies not in the saturation but in the lightness.

This hue is one of the few in the cool area that convinces on a large surface. The muted shades — 190 60 20 Goose pond green at LRV 31.0, 190 70 10 Marble green at 42.7 — are calm enough for a whole wall and still keep a direction. That makes 190 usable in hotel, hospitality and office interiors, where a neutral grey is too flat and a saturated blue too chilly.

Outdoors the hue is used more sparingly. Where it does occur, it is usually on galvanised and powder-coated steel: canopies, cycle shelters, fencing, street furniture. The dark petrol hides soiling visually better than a mid-grey and ages visibly more evenly than a green without a blue component.

Towards the light end the hue all but disappears. 190 80 10 Andean opal green with LRV 58.2 and 190 93 05 Egyptian white with 83.0 read as tinted whites, not as colour — until you lay them next to a neutral white. Then the difference becomes visible at once, and often more strongly than you want.

That is simultaneous contrast, and in this area it is persistent. A ceiling in a light shade from 190 above walls in neutral white looks unintentionally bluish. In such combinations, either take both surfaces from within this hue, or put a clear difference in lightness between them so that the eye attributes the colour difference to the distribution of light.

The darkest shade, 190 20 20 Night turquoise with an LRV of 6.4, is barely distinguishable from black on a small sample; the colour only comes forward at size and under light. So always assess dark shades from this hue on the A4 colour samples as the colour standard and never on a fan-deck sample.

Technical data

Hue: 190 · Shades: 47 · Lightness: L\* 20–93 · Saturation: C\* 05–45 · Lab values: per shade on the colour page · LRV: 6.4 to 83.0 · Included in: RAL D4 A4 colour samples (colour standard), RAL D2 fan deck, RAL D3 colour book, RAL D4 atlas, RAL D6 and D8 boxes

Neighbouring hues

RAL Design 180, RAL Design 200

Loose colour samples from this group

Click a colour for the available formats, or see the full product range in the shop.

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