Color Palettes in Scribus (2): National/Government Standards

In some countries the national standard bodies or governments themselves created standardized color sets, i.e., color standards that bidders/tenderers in calls for tenders must comply with. While some of these standards have niche applications, like military vessels or cables, others are considered to be “general purpose” color standards. The Scribus Team has collected and will continue to collect as many of those standards as possible, at least if they aren’t defined as a subset of other color “standards” like Pantone®. We hope that this feature will facilitate the use of Scribus in government agencies.

To use one of the standards reliably, you are advised to contact the respective government agency or standards organization, as they may be selling reference materials like color fans or color chips. In many cases, the reference materials can also be bought from vendors of printing accessories. The colors in some Scribus palettes are only approximations!


Name Country Issued by Number of Colors Color Model Spot
AFNOR X 08-002 France AFNOR 91 RGB Yes
AS 2007S-1996 Australia Standards Australia 208 RGB Yes
BS 381C United Kingdom British Standards Institution 121 RGB Yes
BS 4800 United Kingdom British Standards Institution 102 RGB Yes
Bundesregierung (3 versions) Germany Bundesregierung 10 CMYK/RGB No/Yes
Federal Identity Program Canada Government of Canada 8 CMYK No
Government UK United Kingdom HM Government 39 RGB No
JIS 8721 Japan Japanese Standards Association 148 RGB Yes
Munsell Soil Colors United States United States Department of Agriculture 324 RGB Yes
NBS/ISCC Colors United States National Institute of Standards and Technology and Inter-Society Color Council 277 RGB Yes
Rijksoverheid (2 versions) The Netherlands Rijksoverheid 16 CMYK No
US FS 595 United States General Services Administration 211 RGB Yes