Chemical colour palette
Action Comics #1
The Chemical colour palette, for want of a better term, was the colour palette provided by the Chemical Color Plate corporation. It was the most common colour palette used in Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age comics, all the way up to the Modern Age's Watchmen.
It's a very distinctive and garish palette, although printing onto newsprint somewhat mitigated that. Each colour consists of cyan, magenta, and yellow mixed together at 0%, 25%, 50%, or 100% each, allowing for 64 (43) possible combinations. The black line art itself was printed on a separate layer.
It was superseded by the 125-colour Eclipse Comics colour palette, then the 372-colour Murphy Anderson colour palette, and finally digital printing which effectively removed all limits.
Palette
| Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Hex value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0% | 0% | FFFFFF |
| 0% | 0% | 25% | FFFFBF |
| 0% | 0% | 50% | FFFF80 |
| 0% | 0% | 100% | FFFF00 |
| 0% | 25% | 0% | FFBFFF |
| 0% | 25% | 25% | FFBFBF |
| 0% | 25% | 50% | FFBF80 |
| 0% | 25% | 100% | FFBF00 |
| 0% | 50% | 0% | FF80FF |
| 0% | 50% | 25% | FF80BF |
| 0% | 50% | 50% | FF8080 |
| 0% | 50% | 100% | FF8000 |
| 0% | 100% | 0% | FF00FF |
| 0% | 100% | 25% | FF00BF |
| 0% | 100% | 50% | FF0080 |
| 0% | 100% | 100% | FF0000 |
| 25% | 0% | 0% | BFFFFF |
| 25% | 0% | 25% | BFFFBF |
| 25% | 0% | 50% | BFFF80 |
| 25% | 0% | 100% | BFFF00 |
| 25% | 25% | 0% | BFBFFF |
| 25% | 25% | 25% | BFBFBF |
| 25% | 25% | 50% | BFBF80 |
| 25% | 25% | 100% | BFBF00 |
| 25% | 50% | 0% | BF80FF |
| 25% | 50% | 25% | BF80BF |
| 25% | 50% | 50% | BF8080 |
| 25% | 50% | 100% | BF8000 |
| 25% | 100% | 0% | BF00FF |
| 25% | 100% | 25% | BF00BF |
| 25% | 100% | 50% | BF0080 |
| 25% | 100% | 100% | BF0000 |
| 50% | 0% | 0% | 80FFFF |
| 50% | 0% | 25% | 80FFBF |
| 50% | 0% | 50% | 80FF80 |
| 50% | 0% | 100% | 80FF00 |
| 50% | 25% | 0% | 80BFFF |
| 50% | 25% | 25% | 80BFBF |
| 50% | 25% | 50% | 80BF80 |
| 50% | 25% | 100% | 80BF00 |
| 50% | 50% | 0% | 8080FF |
| 50% | 50% | 25% | 8080BF |
| 50% | 50% | 50% | 808080 |
| 50% | 50% | 100% | 808000 |
| 50% | 100% | 0% | 8000FF |
| 50% | 100% | 25% | 8000BF |
| 50% | 100% | 50% | 800080 |
| 50% | 100% | 100% | 800000 |
| 100% | 0% | 0% | 00FFFF |
| 100% | 0% | 25% | 00FFBF |
| 100% | 0% | 50% | 00FF80 |
| 100% | 0% | 100% | 00FF00 |
| 100% | 25% | 0% | 00BFFF |
| 100% | 25% | 25% | 00BFBF |
| 100% | 25% | 50% | 00BF80 |
| 100% | 25% | 100% | 00BF00 |
| 100% | 50% | 0% | 0080FF |
| 100% | 50% | 25% | 0080BF |
| 100% | 50% | 50% | 008080 |
| 100% | 50% | 100% | 008000 |
| 100% | 100% | 0% | 0000FF |
| 100% | 100% | 25% | 0000BF |
| 100% | 100% | 50% | 000080 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 000000 |
Further reading
Deep dives
- "The Comic Company: True Colors — Part 3" Gerry Giovinco, CO2 Comics Blog, Sep 2010
Colour palettes: Boolean colour palette | Chemical colour palette
Comics: Chemical colour palette | DC | Limited series | Masked vigilante | Modern Age | Superhero
