RAL is a colour matching system utilized in Europe which is created and administrated by the German RAL gGmbH[1] (RAL non-profit LLC), which is a subsidiary of the German RAL Institute. In colloquial speech RAL means the RAL Classic system, mainly utilized for varnish and powder coating but nowadays you will find reference panels for plastics as well. Approved RAL products are furnished with a hologram as of early 2013 to make unauthorised versions challenging to produce. Imitations may show different hue and colour when observed under various light sources.
RAL Colour Charts are ideal for use within reference to choose an appropriate colour for painting using powder coat colours although other tools like RAL Colour Swabs and RAL Colour Control Cards are often more useful.
A RAL Colour Chart is ideal for hanging on the wall for general reference and then for use when discussing power coating colours on the phone. However, they are not ideal for utilization in the workshop, especially if they are pinned to the wall. This is where RAL Colour Swabs and Control Cards can be found in.
A RAL Shade Swab is keen on colour coated plastic with every fan detailing an alternative RAL Tone & Colour. This fan is great for utilization in the job shop in addition to off site as well as at a customers factory when discussing important powder coating decisions. The RAL Shade Swab may be placed upon an item to provide a more accurate representation of the intended finished powder coating to me put on the metal component. Most Swabs have several hundred colours on them offering a total variety of colours, shades and tones available as powder coated finishes, and also the RAL Swab will help to determine the preffered choice of powder coated finish.
However, the limitations in the RAL Shade & Colour Swabs are almost as tight as the ones from the RAL Tone Charts pinned for the office wall. The small Swab tabs that are generally only 100mm long and 40mm wide tend not to provide an exact colour match, just a close representation. This is when a RAL Colour Control Card is necessary.
The Colour Control Card is really a large specially prepared colour coated card prepared by the paint manufacturer. powder coating Colour Cards offer a ideal match up against the manufacturers paint and will be kept as reference for later colour matching exercises. RAL Coating Cards are compatible with permanent colour references for technical documentation in addition to legal contract referencing. Whilst all colours might vary slightly because of changing powder coating environments and respective nacmlk regimes, the Ral Shade Card is regarded as the definitive reference for paint matching against RAL Powder Coating Colours.
Ral Colour Swabs can be found in the K7 format which shows 5 colours per fan finger, and therefore is really a cheaper fan type and also the K5 that has more fan fingers each of that is focused on just one RAL tone, shade or colour. Ral Colour Charts are available for purchase within the C&S Processing website at great rates.
In 1927 the German Reichs-Ausschuß für Lieferbedingungen und Gütesicherung (Imperial Commission for Delivery Terms and Quality Assurance) invented a collection of forty colours beneath the name of “RAL 840”. Prior to that date manufacturers and customers were required to exchange samples to illustrate a tint, whereas from that point on they might depend on numbers.
Inside the 1930s the numbers were changed uniformly to four digits and also the collection was renamed to “RAL 840 R” (R for revised). With tints constantly added to the collection, it was revised again in 1961 and changed to “RAL 840-HR”, which contains 210 colours and it is being used for this day. Inside the 1960s the colours received supplemental names to avoid confusion in the event of transposed digits.
As “RAL 840-HR” covered only matte paint the 1980s saw the invention of “RAL 841-GL” for glossy surfaces, restricted to 193 colours. A primary criterion for colours in the RAL Classic collection is to be of “paramount interest”. Therefore, the majority of the colours inside it are utilized on warning and traffic signs or are committed to government departments and public services (as an example: RAL 1004 – Swiss Postal Service, RAL 1021 – Austrian Postal Service, RAL 1032 – German Postal Service).
