colors of the pictograms present in the technical documentation

[milko259349307s4y]

good morning

I read that the ISO 3864 standard defines the international standards for safety signs and markings and the color scheme (the subject of my post).
the yellow triangle uses the color RAL 1003. this color corresponds to a orange-yellow cmyk: 0 32 100 2

on the web and in manuals available online it is possible to find the same pictogram in many yellow versions.
What "standard" do you use?

[aniri5j9ox8tw2ln]

Mi attengo alle versioni originali che trovo su Wikipedia, ovviamente consulto le pagine del mio paese, perché anche questi pittogrammi cambiano da paese a paese, perché anche gli standard Iso non sono gli stessi ovunque. Da lì poi scarico il file originale, di solito un .svg

Se non trovo il pittogramma su Wikipedia, lo cerco con google e anche qui vedo di trovare quello ufficiale da scaricare. Se la qualità è buona provo a ricalcarlo come vettoriale tramite lo strumento Ricalco Immagine in Illustrator.

[milko259349307s4y]

ciao Ani

cosa intendi dire con "gli standard ISO non sono gli stessi ovunque" ?

forse intendi dire che in qualche paese si usano standard diversi dal ISO 3864...

[aniri5j9ox8tw2ln]

Esatto, ogni stato ha ISO diversi. Se guardi i tipici pittogrammi p.es. della segnaletica stradale o dei cantieri, non sono uguali tra Italia e tutti gli altri Stati.

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segnali_di_divieto_e_obbligo_nella_segnaletica_verticale_europea

[milko259349307s4y]

hai ragione,
avrei fatto bene a specificare "direttiva macchine"...
😉

[rob day]

What "standard" do you use?

Hi @milko259349307s4y , For converting colors for different uses start with the RAL Lab definition, not CMYK. With the Lab definition you can convert directly into the appropriate color space--e.g. sRGB for web usage, or a specific CMYK space for print.

[milko259349307s4y]

hi rob,
actually what I want to know is which cmyk color the technical publishers apply to the hazard, prohibition and mandatory pictograms.

the RAL version seems to be too dark...

thx for LAB suggestion

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

interesting one

i can't find any official information on my initial delve into this
but did find this

https://www.kollmorgen.com/en-us/developer-network/safety-colors

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Trying to find any simple asnwer in standards like ISO is rabbit holes within rabbit holes within rabbit holes.... I chased links and references around in a circle without ever finding a yellow color definition.

But if you want formulas for reflectivity and luminance, just ask. Arrrrgh.

[rob day]

The appearance of any CMYK or RGB color depends on the output device’s profile. Lab is device independent and its appearance doesn’t change with different document color profile assignments. Here you can see the RAL RGB and CMYK color values change in appearance when I change the document’s color profile assignments:

The RAL 1003 Lab color relative colorimetric conversion to Coated GRACoL CMYK:

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I understand that on the one hand, you're looking for a good representational color for docs. (I just did a series of safety reference docs that used a couple of dozen of these icons.)

But the color standard applies to actual signs and labels, not docs, as far as I know. I wouldn't worry too much about a point or two of component values. 🙂

[milko259349307s4y]

I agree, James.
In fact I wasn't looking for the exact value but just a common approximation usually applied by those who produce technical documentation

[Eugene Tyson]

And your colour will be compromised by paper type, humidity, type of printing (litho/digital etc.) and a myriad of other things. I've seen the same printing plates on 2 machines (both Speedmasters) and the colour from both were slightly slightly slightly different. 

We can only try. In the end - it is what it is.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

In the absence of any definition, I'd use (have used), for simplicity, 0-20-100-0, 255-200-0, #ffcc00. It's a nice warm yellow-gold and is close enough to what most people perceive as "safety yellow."

[rob day]

What "standard" do you use?...I wasn't looking for the exact value but just a common approximation

It would be impossible to use a CMYK color as a standard without also including the expected output device color profile as part of the standard.

[milko259349307s4y]

You're spot on Rob !
😉