Introduction
This page contains a chart of the standard 216 "non-dithering" colors. These are standard computer monitor colors so that
the color shown by all browsers and computer screens will be identical.
NOTE: Depending on the quality of your monitor or if your monitor is misaligned, the colors in the chart may appear either dull
or too bright. You may go to the Monitor Check
page to find out how to properly adjust your monitor.
Dithering
Dithering is a technique used in computer graphics to create the illusion of color depth in images with a limited color palette.
In a dithered image, colors not available in the palette are approximated by a diffusion of colored pixels from within the
available palette. The human eye perceives the diffusion as a mixture of the colors within it. Dithering is analogous to the
halftone technique used in printing. Dithered images, particularly those with relatively few colors, can often be distinguished
by a characteristic graininess, or speckled appearance. (See the illustration of dithering below)
| NOTE: Red and blue are the only colors used, but as the pixels become smaller, the right-most swatch appears to the eye as violet. |
 |
Color Notation
The 6-character code shown in each color swatch is a HEXIDECIMAL number representing the color. This number is used to
display a particular color, for example, on this web page.
NOTE: Each color swatch is produced by using the hexadecimal values 00, 33, 66, 99, CC, and FF, which represents
corresponding intensities of the three primary monitor colors RED, GREEN, and BLUE. The value 00 represents a total
absense of that particular primary color and the value FF represents the maximum value for the primary color.
For example, WHITE (FFFFFF) is made by all colors at maximum intensity while BLACK (000000) is produced with
all colors at minimum or OFF.
Color Chart
The colors in the following chart should appear even and consistent when used on web pages, as these are the 216 colors
used in both the Windows and Macintosh standard color palettes. All other colors in the spectrum are achieved by mixing
or dithering these colors.
NOTE: Tests have shown Internet Explorer used on the Windows platform does not properly render four of the colors,
these are marked with an asterisk (*).
