^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Colors of flags

Pantone Matching System and flags
One color flags

Pantone Matching System and flags

The Flag Institute has used standard colours for some time, derived from the Pantone Matching System, but making allowance for the prevailing system of printing from four process colours. As has been pointed out, most Mac programmes cater for PMS colours, including the one we use for graphics, which is Adobe Illustrator. Our object is to restrain the growth of colours to unmanageable proportions, and so we have listed some standard flag colours, with a few allowable variations. These variations come into effect where a flag's specifications call for them, eg 'azul turquesi' in some Central American flags, 'Harvard Blue' in the flag of Israel, and where official specifications list either Pantone matches, eg Finland, Estonia, Australia, or other colour identification matches than can be 'translated' into Pantone matches. The standard PMS colours are: 032, red; 286, blue; 354, green; 109, yellow; 165, orange; and 167, brown. Some frequent variations are: 185, red for 'Old Glory Red' also used in Australia; 280 blue, ditto; 355 green as in the flag of Saudi Arabia, etc. Gold is 116, as in the flag of Europe and of Germany, and silver is 420. So far we have kept to our resolution to use not more than 30 shades of colour. A printout of these is available on request. Our position is that flags normally employ the 'default' colours unless some good reason can be shown for departing from them.
william crampton 14-OCT-1995