In a fibre optic cable construction, the fragile glass fibres are housed in colourful tubes. When cables are installed or repaired, the colours of the tubes help tell the fibres apart. Various colour systems have been used at different times and in different countries to distinguish the fibres. On this page, we present the most commonly used colour systems.
At our factory, we can manufacture cables according to various colour systems. Commonly used systems include the Finnish FIN2012, DIN/VDE by Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. / Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V., and ANSI/TIA by the American National Standards Institute / Telecommunications Industry Association. In addition to these standards, we can also customise the colour coding according to the customer’s wishes.
ANSI/TIA-598-D
Worldwide, the 12-colour system ANSI/TIA-598-D (American National Standards Institute / Telecommunications Industry Association) is often used. It is an American standard, but in practice it serves as an international standard colour system. Its colours are shown in the table.
Please note: If a group contains more than 12 fibres, a ring or stripe is used on the fibre as an additional marking. The groups within a cable are distinguished from one another by colour markings on their structure, in accordance with the colour system. The methods of applying additional colour markings, as well as their colours, shapes and sizes, are precisely specified. In the standard, the colours and the boundaries of the colour ranges are defined based on the Munsell colour system.
DIN/VDE 0888
DIN VDE 0888 (Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. / Verband der Elektrotechnik Elektronik Informationstechnik e.V.) is a German series of standards that plays a central role in the European cable industry. In practice, the series relates to cable type codes and the fibre colour-coding system. The colour-coding system is shown in the table below.
In cables with more than 12 fibres, a ring or stripe is used on the fibre as an additional marking.
The Finnish FIN2012 system
In Finland, the FIN2012 colour system is generally used. Its colours are shown below.
If a group contains more than 12 fibres, a ring or stripe is used on the fibre as an additional marking.
Our production mainly uses the colour systems mentioned above. However, cables can also be manufactured according to other colour systems to meet our customers’ needs.
