Federal Standard 595
Federal Standard 595B - Colors Used in Government Procurement ( Federal Standard 595B - Colors Used in Government (s) procurement (s)) is a standardized color palette in the United States . The standard's abbreviation is often found as FED-STD-595, FED-STD-595B or FS-595B.
The General Services Administration adopted this color system in 1956. The standard is based on guidelines that were issued at the time of the procurement problems during World War II, when a specified color scheme became an urgent requirement in the contract manufacturing of military equipment.
The first standard FED-STD-595 from March 1956 comprised 358 colors, revision A from January 1968 then comprised 437 colors. The current revision B Change 1 includes 611 colors. The colors are identified with a five-digit color code and do not have their own color names. Similar to the RAL CLASSIC color palette , sample cards with all color values are printed and distributed.
Revision C of FED-STD-595 was published in a rough version on August 10, 2007 and should be decided in 2008. There is no change to existing colors; 39 shades are added, so that the future 595C then includes 650 colors. The new standard also includes reproduction information, including color composition and color names.
The proposed revision C with the reproduction information is also a classic color palette from the era before digitization - the only relevant reference is the color cards (comparable to RAL CLASSIC in Germany and BS 4800 in the United Kingdom). Government prime contractors are required to replace the sample cards at least every two years. There is no extension towards a system based on color perception such as the RAL DESIGN color system or the NCS color system.