In 1927, the German RAL organisation launched an initial palette of 40 colours. Prior to this innovation, manufacturers and customers exchanged samples to define shades, but since then they have been able to use numerical codes. The collection was updated in 1961 to include new shades. During the 1960s, names were added to the colours to prevent confusion over the numbers. Since its extension in 2020, the RAL Classic system now includes 216 colours.