Natural Color System (NCS) June 28, 2008
Posted by admin in : Colour Chart , trackbackI get countless enquiries on colours. Last week, there was a search on this site for the colour S2060-R20B. Let me use this opportunity to explain this particular colour notation and the colour system it originates from.
I’ve mentioned in the past the BS or British Standards colour system and the RAL colour system from Germany (see post). Now, I would like to introduce another widely used colour system - the Natural Color System or NCS. NCS is developed by the Scandinavian Colour Institute AB (www.ncscolour.com). There are 1750 colours in the current NCS Index Edition 2.
Like the BS and the RAL systems, NCS is developed for the ease and efficient communication of colours. This simple statement understates the importance of such a colour system. It is an almost indispensable tool of communication. For example, if you need to specify a colour for a product made half way round the world, naming conventions like ‘Grass Green’ or ‘Sky Blue’ would not do. Grass may be greener on the other side (pun intended) and sky may not be blue in some places. Besides, there are thousands of shades of blue or green. Ambiguity in such conventions can lead to complaints, loss of confidence and even litigations. Colour systems allow for the use of a set of alpha-numerics to communicate colours. All uncertainties removed.
A bit more background to the NCS. The 2nd Edition of NCS was launched in 1995, based on 60 years of research by the Scandinavian Colour Institute AB. Unlike the BS and the RAL systems, the NCS colour notation is self-explanatory. Lets go into its notation, using S2060-R20B as an example :
This is how it works:
The NCS notation is based on the similarity between the colour in question and the 6 elementary colours - Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, Black and White. The 1st letter ‘S’ denotes the use of the 2nd edition. The next 4 letters indicates nuances. In this case, ‘20′ indicates the colours resemblance to black and ‘60′ indicates its degree of chromaticness. ‘2060′ therefore tells us that this colour has 20% ‘blackness’ and 60% ‘chromaticness’.
The next 4 alphanumeric describes the colour’s hue - how it resembles the 2 elementary colours shown by the 2 letters. In this case, ‘R20B’ means the colour has 20% ‘blueness’ and 80% ‘redness’.
Pure greys do not have hue and is notated by its nuances and a letter ‘N’. White is ‘S0500-N’, while black is ‘S9000-N’. ‘S1000-N’, ‘S1500-N’ and ‘S2000-N’ are gradations of pure grey.
Currently, in paint products, Jotun utilises NCS in its tinting machines. In the past, ICI Colour Dimension also made use of NCS. But a number of years ago, ICI switched to the Master Palette Color System. The notation is different, eg.
50YY 77/285
From my internet search, I found a great site that provides an online viewer of NCS colours. The site is created by Robert Karlsson of i2 Studios. It lets you key in the NCS colour notation and shows you onscreen the colour entered. Do note that all colours produced online will vary according to the colour settings of your display unit, and serves only as a guide. Go to:
Hope the above article helps you understand a bit more about this particular colour system.
Please feel free to leave your questions or comments by clicking here.
Comments»
[...] notation used by Dulux, though different in structure, is similar to the NCS notation (see post) in its use of hue, chromaticness, and "blackness". An example of the Dulux [...]
Hi,
how can one convert Dulux color codes to more standard NCS values ?
Is there a possibility of converting RAL to NCS within 10-15% similarity , if there is a program for conversion, where can i buy it.
Buenas tardes:
Me podria decir a que color de la carta Ral corresponde el color NCS-7502-Y,
Gracias por anticipado,
Does the “Colortrend Ambiance” use the NCS system?
I went to Crown asking for 2 colours:
Colour 1: R: 106, G: 125, B: 112
Colour 2: R: 201, G: 213, B: 205
and they aid they couldn’t make it, cos this is incomplete information - I needed to tell them what “base” each of these required. They also said that each red is different from the other (same with green and blue).
They showed me the Colortrend Ambiance cards and aksed me to choose the closest (was quite disapointed).
What info do I need to give them so they can make the colours for me, pls?
convert ncs s 4040-y70r to ral
thnak’s
pablo,
Closest RAL colour I can find is RAL 8004 Copper Brown. Close, but not exact. Regards.
A QUEL NUANCE RAL CORESPOND
NCS 0565-G50 Y
Buenas tardes:
Me podria decir a que color de la carta Ral corresponde el color NCS-7302-R67B
Gracias por anticipado
can you help me to know more about printing color card? I’m interinsting to know how it makes and what kind of paper they are using and the machine name used in this production and so on
Good morning I need conversion color NCS S 2005-Y50R to CARTA RAL
Thanks
Could you help me convert ICI code: 00NN 20/00 to NCS?
Thanks!
Sorry, It’s meant to be 00NN 20/000…
I need to convert the folowing dulux colors in NCS?
Necesito convertir los siguientes colores dulux en NCS?
Pourriez-vous m’aider à convertir les dulux couleurs en NCS?
80RR 12/516
31YR 18/648
10GY 41/600
50YY 63/041
Gracias!
Please convert the following codes in NCS or RAL:
- G 0732-Y10R
- G6020-R80B
-G0944-Y10R
-G 1080-Y65R
Thank you for your prompt answer.
Hi,
Can you please confirm equivalent RAL nos for NCS nos,
a) S-5000-N and b) S-0300-N
Need to convert NSC S 1075 G40Y to the nearest RAL code. Can anyone help me?
I need to convert ACC color F2-40-70 into an NCS color