Versions and Changes

A colour library that changes without saying so is a liability in every production file that references it. This is what has changed, when, and what the rules are that limit what can change at all.

The rules first

The two absolutes at the bottom are the important ones. A code or a name that stops resolving is an inconvenience — you look it up and find it retired. A code that resolves to a different colour is a defect that spreads silently through documents nobody is going to re-check.

Every swatch carries its code in front of its name. Parse the code and the colour resolves even if the word is gone entirely.

Edition 2026-08

The first published edition: 4253 colours, three measurement conditions, every colour named. Everything before it was preparation and is not a change to anything anyone holds.

From here every change appears on this page, with its date and its reason, and the rules above say which changes are possible at all.

How software should follow this

The library is published as a set of files, each one immutable, plus a single small manifest that says which files are current. An application checks the manifest, compares it with what it already holds, and fetches only what has changed.

That means an unattended system — a colour server, a RIP, a formulation station — can keep itself current without anybody logging in, and can also be pinned to a known edition and left alone. Both are legitimate; what is not legitimate is not knowing which one you are running.