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The hexadecimal value system is the standard method of representing
color on the Web. Every color that is displayed on the Web is represented with
a six digit hexadecimal number value. These values can be typed directly into
the HTML for
a Web page or entered into the color mixer or color palette of a graphics program
in order for the color to be displayed.
Red, green, and blue can each have one of 256 values in terms
of color on the Web. The values are 0 through 255. The result is that there
are 16,777,216 different ways that red, green, and blue can be combined to form
another color, (256 x 256 x 256 = 16,777,216). This is also known as 24-bit
color. A base-16 or hexadecimal numbering system is used to represent
the colors with numerals and letters, instead of the usual base-10 system. The
hexadecimal system uses the following values:
0 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E
F
Zero is the lowest value and F is the highest value. If base-10
numbering were used, the colors would have values of 00000000 to 16777216, but
with hexadecimal numbering, the values would be 000000 to FFFFFF. This allows
a two character value to be assigned to each color. The first and second characters
are for red, the third and fourth characters are for green, and the fifth and
sixth characters are for blue. The higher the number is for each color, the
more of that color is present. These six digit values are the ones that you
can enter directly into the HTML for a Web page. To enter the color while using
a graphics program, you would enter the values of 0 up to 255 for each of the
color components of red, green, and blue, to achieve the desired color. Some
examples of color formulas are listed below, showing the hexadecimal value and
the value expressed in terms of the individual red, green, and blue components.
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Red
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FF0000
R = 255
G = 0
B = 0
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The first and second characters are reserved for the
red, and in this example, they are both at the highest possible value
(FF). The third and forth characters, which represent green, are at
zero, and the fifth and sixth characters, which represent blue, are
at zero. This means that the color is 100% red.
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Green
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00FF00
R = 0
G = 255
B = 0
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The third and fourth characters, which represent green,
are at the highest possible value (FF). The characters representing
red and blue are at zero, so the color is 100% green.
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Blue
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0000FF
R = 0
G = 0
B = 255
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The fifth and sixth characters, which represent blue,
are at the highest possible value (FF). The characters representing
red and green are at zero, so the color is 100% blue.
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Cyan
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00FFFF
R = 0
G = 255
B = 255
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The green and blue are both at 100% saturation (FF),
and the red is at zero. The green and blue light combine to make cyan.
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Magenta
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FF00FF
R = 255
G = 0
B = 255
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The red and blue are both at 100% saturation (FF),
and the green is at zero. The red and blue light combine to make magenta.
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Yellow
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FFFF00
R = 255
G = 255
B = 0
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The red and green are both at 100% saturation (FF),
and the blue is at zero. The red and green light combine to make yellow.
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White
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FFFFFF
R = 255
G = 255
B = 255
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All three additive primary colors are at 100% saturation
so the result is white light.
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Black
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000000
R = 0
G = 0
B = 0
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All three additive primaries are at zero saturation,
which results in the absence of light, or black.
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Medium Gray
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999999
R = 153
G = 153
B = 153
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All three additive primary colors are at the same
saturation level, but are not at zero saturation (black or 000000) or
100% saturation (white or FFFFFF), so the result is gray. Any color
in which the values are the same for red, green, and blue, will be a
shade of gray. (Examples include: 333333, 7E7E7E, C1C1C1, etc.)
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