Short answer
RAL colours are standardised, numbered colour references maintained by RAL in Germany, used across Europe for coatings, signage, machinery, vehicles and building products. RAL CLASSIC began in 1927 as a register of 40 colours for industry and procurement and now has 216 four-digit shades; it is a curated collection, not an ordered colour space. The RAL DESIGN SYSTEM, introduced in 1993 and now RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus, is different in kind: a systematic, CIELab-based set of about 1,800 shades coded by hue, lightness and chroma.
Licensing: RAL colour data is proprietary and is not reproduced by Colourwise.
RAL was founded in 1925 as the Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen, a German committee for terms of delivery. Its purpose was practical: suppliers and buyers needed to agree what a specified colour meant without exchanging samples for every order. In 1927 it issued a register of 40 colours, which became RAL CLASSIC. Each colour received a four-digit number and a name, and physical primary standards were produced against which suppliers' output could be checked. That origin explains the collection's character: colours were added because industries needed them — for signals, vehicles, equipment, building products — not to fill a systematic space.
RAL CLASSIC now contains 216 shades. RAL maintains two registers of primary standards for them: RAL 840-HR for matt reproduction and RAL 841-GL, introduced in 1986, for glossy finishes, because gloss changes how a colour looks and measures. Manufacturers formulate paints and coatings to match these references rather than a numeric value. This is why a 'RAL' colour is most reliable in the materials RAL standards were made for, such as paints and powder coatings, and why screen versions from different sources disagree: a HEX value is an approximation someone derived, not part of the standard.
In 1993 RAL introduced the RAL DESIGN SYSTEM for designers who needed more colours arranged logically. Its current form, RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus, contains 1,825 shades organised in a three-dimensional space based on CIELab: 39 hue rows plus a grey axis. Each code has seven digits — three for hue angle, two for lightness and two for chroma — so a designer can read how light and colourful a shade is from its number, much as with NCS or Munsell. RAL EFFECT, launched in 2007, adds water-based solid and metallic shades. By 2020 RAL's collections totalled some 2,540 shades.
RAL references are specifications of appearance for particular material classes, so a RAL number on a drawing should be accompanied by the finish (matt, satin, gloss) and ideally a tolerance and a physical reference, especially where different materials — powder-coated steel, plastic, textile — must look alike. Different materials will not match perfectly even when each is 'the same RAL', because texture, gloss and pigments differ and may be metameric. RAL colour data is proprietary; Colourwise describes the system but does not reproduce RAL values or name-to-colour lists.
| Year | Development |
|---|---|
| 1925 | RAL founded as the Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen |
| 1927 | First register: 40 colours (RAL 840-HR) |
| 1986 | Glossy primary-standard register RAL 841-GL introduced |
| 1993 | RAL DESIGN SYSTEM introduced (1,625 shades at launch) |
| 2007 | RAL EFFECT: 420 solid and 70 metallic water-based shades |
| 2020 | Collections total about 2,540 shades |
Why: Different materials, gloss levels and pigment formulations; possibly metamerism under site lighting.
Fix: Specify finish and tolerance, approve physical samples of each material under the intended light.
Why: Each site uses its own approximate HEX conversion.
Fix: Use a physical RAL reference for decisions; treat on-screen swatches as illustrative.
Each statement is labelled by kind — established fact, a standard’s requirement, observed market data, a convention, or Colourwise’s own interpretation or analysis — with the strength of the evidence behind it.
FactModerate evidence
RAL was established in 1925 as the Reichsausschuss für Lieferbedingungen and issued its first collection of 40 colours in 1927, specified in the RAL 840-HR register.
Caveat: The organisation's own history.
Source: RAL colours: history
FactModerate evidence
RAL CLASSIC has grown from 40 to 216 shades; the RAL 840-HR register is the reference for matt shades and RAL 841-GL, introduced in 1986, for glossy shades.
Source: RAL CLASSIC; RAL colours: history
FactModerate evidence
The RAL DESIGN SYSTEM was introduced in 1993; RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus contains 1,825 CIELab-based shades coded by hue, lightness and chroma in seven digits.
Colourwise interpretationModerate evidence
Specifying a RAL number without finish, material and tolerance is a common cause of mismatches between components that are all nominally the same RAL colour.
Based on: Follows from RAL's separate matt and gloss registers and from metamerism between different material formulations.
Reviewed 29 September 2026. Colourwise summarises its sources in its own words and does not reproduce standards text or proprietary colour data. Spotted an error? Tell us.