Hello,
Work continues on my next rail carriage model, which is almost done, but it still needs more work.
Before that, in this entry I'll explain how I found the correct SBB colors to use with my papercraft project.
I used Pantone colors for my model up until this point, but months of Web searches to identify more SBB Pantone colors came up empty. Eventually, I came across a reference to RAL colors (SBB rollmaterial farben.) What's Pantone and RAL?
* Color matching systems: Pantone and RAL
Designers who refer to specific colors and shades use color matching systems--these give standard names or numbers for specific colors. The Pantone Matching System (PMS, or just Pantone) is one such system, and it's used worldwide by designers--basically for print work, but also by architects and manufacturers. So instead of referring to a medium yellow color with some light orange, you can state the color as Pantone 1023. You can also buy small Pantone booklets which show all the system's colors and their reference numbers. This way, you can refer to a color swatch by its number and more closely match what you want.
More searching for SBB's colors led me to a page (more on that soon) on the SBB Historic Website which gave SBB's various colors. These were not listed as Pantone colors, but instead as RAL colors. RAL is another color matching system, created in Germany, used for paints in commercial/government applications in German speaking countries. RAL itself has several color systems--RAL Classic, RAL Effect, and RAL Design. There are some overlap in colors, but they're basically different. RAL Classic is the system to use for SBB's rolling stock.
Pantone and RAL each have different color palates. Although it's possible to convert a color between the two systems, the match can vary greatly--the hue can be slightly or greatly different, or one can be much darker than the other. Each color system doesn't use all possible colors, but only a selection--this is one reason it can be difficult to make a 100% match.
Since the paint used on the trains was identified as RAL colors, that's the color system I referred to and stuck with.
A side note: RAL colors are usually used with paint and Pantone colors with inks, but I'm using RAL colors to match my printout inks.
* RAL colors from SBB Historic
It seems the page on SBB Historic which listed the RAL colors used was removed sometime after 2007. There used to be a FAQ section with a page for rolling stock questions--that page no longer exists:
http://www.sbbhistoric.ch/index.cfm?...faq_bereichz=5
However, it can still be seen using the Wayback Machine on
www.archive.org. Just paste in the URL you want to see, click on a page's capture date (the blue dot) from the timeline, and there it is! You can also see a translation with Google Translate (paste in the page's URL from when it's viewed on the Wayback Machine, which starts with web.archive.org,) but it often reads like a drunk robot wrote it.
So here's an excerpt from the page's list of SBB's RAL colors, which is really great for getting the correct colors for your train model projects:
SBB Red - RAL 3020 [from what I understand, RAL 3020 is only for the SBB logo and RAL 3000 is for the everything else]
SBB Black - RAL 9005
SBB White - RAL 9010
SBB Black Grey (all bogies since EW IV) - RAL 7021
SBB Umbra gray (for aprons, vehicle roofs) - RAL 7022
SBB Blue (signs above and SBB Cargo) - RAL 5002
SBB Anthracite - RAL 7016
Cobalt blue (NPZ, DPZ) - RAL 5013
Fire Red (locomotives, dining cars, fronts) - RAL 3000
Traffic Yellow (Km, cranes, doors) - RAL 1023
The page also notes SBB uses the Helvetica Neue Light font (Neue Helvetica LT.)
* SBB RAL colors via Thurbo
Some of these colors can also be verified from Thurbo, which is mostly owned by SBB. The good news is that Thurbo
freely and publicly offers its corporate design manual as a pdf. It's the first pdf link here:
Thurbo - Die Regionalbahn .Das Erscheinungsbild von Thurbo
Page seven notes SBB's font as Helvetica Neue LT, both in #45 light and #75 bold weights.
Page eight lists the SBB colors in multiple colors systems.
SBB Red: RAL 3020
SBB Black: RAL 9005
SBB White: RAL 9010
SBB Blue: RAL 5002
SBB Anthracite: RAL 7016
* RGB Values to use (good luck!)
OK, I know the RAL colors I need, but what RGB values should I use in my graphics program which will be correct when printed out? I suppose things might have been easier if I had a color calibrated monitor and printer, but I don't, so anyway...
I used RGB values from several sources.
1) RAL Website
There is a Classic Color table page on the RAL Website. One screenshot later I had my values to read off in Photoshop--although RAL itself says its Web page isn't "binding," so the colors are off in some cases.
2) RAL Swatch PDF
The Arraydesign.co.uk Website has a
publicly viewable PDF with RAL colors and more. Enough said.
3) RAL Classic K7 Guide
You can buy a RAL color swatch booklet from paint stores and online merchants--like Amazon. A scan of the needed colors (again on non calibrated equipment) gave me close values.
So now I had my RAL RGB values. Unfortunately, they varied at times--have a look:
In the end, I chose my final RGB values through some experimentation and matching printouts against rolling stock (at that great color matching location--the train station.)
* Color values used
Ultimately, I decided on the following colors to use with my papercraft project--these matched when using a relatively recent HP OfficeJet printer (which automatically converts from RGB to CMYK) with HP ColorLok ink. Please note that my colors may shift when used with another type of printer and ink--so don't consider them the final word. However, they are a good starting point.
So these are the colors I'm using with my next rail carriage model, and when it's done I'll propagate the colors to my previous models.
Now I'm in the process of matching RAL colors to Prismacolor pencils to color the paper's edges.
I'll end with a teaser for my next post--yes it's related, and no I haven't gone bananas. ;-)
Cheers!