Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
TIA-598 Blue Orange Green Brown Slate White Red Black Yellow Violet Rose Aqua
Fibers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Blue — Orange — Green — Brown — Slate — White — Red — Clear — Yellow — Violet — Rose — Aqua —
TIA-598 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Tubes Blue Orange Green Brown Slate White Red Black Yellow Violet Rose Aqua
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
S12 Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Violet Orange Aqua Rose
Fibers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Red — Blue — White — Green — Yellow — Slate — Brown — Clear — Violet — Orange — Aqua — Rose —
S12 -Alt. 1 1 2 3-16
Tubes Red Blue White
S12 - Alt. 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Tubes Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Violet Orange Aqua Rose
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Standard Type E Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Orange Violet Rose Aqua
Fibers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Red — Blue — White — Green — Yellow — Slate — Brown — Clear — Orange — Violet — Rose — Aqua —
Standard Type E 1 2 3-6 7 8-16
Tubes Red Blue White Blue White
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
FIN 2012 Blue White Yellow Green Slate Orange Brown Aqua Black Violet Rose Red
Fibers 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Blue — White — Yellow — Green — Slate — Orange — Brown — Aqua — Clear — Violet — Rose — Red —
FIN 2012 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Tubes Blue White Yellow Green Slate Orange Brown Aqua Black Violet Rose Red
The above chart is a quick reference guide for indentification of fibers and tubes in the most common cable designs.
Detailed information about the color code systems for all cable types are available in the following pages.
Contents Page
1. About Color Code Systems............................................ 2
2. EIA/TIA-598 (Bellcore).................................................. 2
3. S12.............................................................................. 3
4. Standard Type E........................................................... 4
5. FIN2012...................................................................... 5
6. Fiber Ribbon Cables..................................................... 6
7. Submarine Cables (Loose Tube) ................................... 8
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Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
1. About Color Code Systems
Fibers, tubes and ribbons in fiber optic cables are marked with different colors and bar codes to facilitate identification. Hexatronic
offers cables with color code systems according to all international and national standards and for all types of fiber optic cables.
Custom specific color code systems are available on request. This document describes the most common color code standards for
cable designs, namely:
• TIA/EIA-598 (Bellcore)
• S12
• Standard Type E
• FIN2012
All systems are characeterized by using 12 different colors to identify fibers that are grouped together in a common bundle such as a
tube, ribbon, yarn wrapped bundle or other types of bundle. In all charts in this document, all types of bundles are referred to as
“tubes”. If more than 12 fibers or tubes are to be separated, the color sequence is normally repeated, but with ring marks or lines on
the colored fibers and tubes. Some systems such as the S12 and Standard Type E use only a few tube colors and the tube is instead
identified by its position in the cable.
To make the charts in this document easy to read, all unnecessary information is removed.
Counting direction
598
2. TIA/EIA-598 (Bellcore)
This color code, formerly referred as the “Bellcore”-standard, is the most recognized system worldwide.
Fiber color coding:
1 2 3 4 5
S12 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Blue Orange Green Brown Slate White Red Black Yellow Violet Rose Aqua
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Blue — Orange — Green — Brown — Slate — White — Red — Clear — Yellow — Violet — Rose — Aqua —
If fiber 13-24 are used in a loose tube design, the color sequence is repeated for fiber 13-24, but fibers are ring marked. Fiber 20 is
FIN2012
clear (uncolored) since ring marking will not be visible on black colored fibers.
Tube color coding:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Blue Orange Green Brown Slate White Red Black Yellow Violet Rose Aqua
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598
Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
Counting direction
S12
3. S12
FIN2012
The S12 color code was introduced in 2012 by Skanova (Sweden) to be used for micro cables and nano cables. The standard is now
widely used in Sweden and other countires.
Fiber color coding:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Violet Orange Aqua Rose
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Red — Blue — White — Green — Yellow — Slate — Brown — Clear — Violet — Orange — Aqua — Rose —
If fiber 13-24 are used in a loose tube design, the color sequence is repeated for fiber 13-24, but fibers are ring marked. Fiber 20 is
clear (uncolored) since ring marking will not be visible on black colored fibers.
Tube color coding:
Two options of tube color codings exist in the S12 system:
Alternative 1:
1 2 3-16
Red Blue White
Alternative 2:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Violet Orange Aqua Rose
Note about fiber ribbon cables and the S12 system:
To identify ribbons in a fiber ribbon cable there are two allowed methods in the S12 system:
1. Marking with stripes on each ribbon in each slot
2. Making each ribbon unique in each slot by deviating from the color sequence in the table above. Each ribbon will have its own
color sequence.
Method 1 is by far the most convenient since the ribbon is easily identified without the need to consult complicated color charts. Only
4 different colors are used for fibers in the ribbon and these are the same for every ribbon. It is also much easier to identify the
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Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
Counting direction
4. Standard Type E
Standard color code system originally jointly defined by Televerket (Telia) and Ericsson in Sweden. The system is used worldwide but
is gradually replaced by the S12 and TIA/EIA-598 systems 598in many regions.
Fiber color coding:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Red Blue White Green Yellow Slate Brown Black Orange Violet Rose Aqua
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Red — Blue — White — Green — Yellow — Slate — Brown — Clear — Orange — Violet — Rose — Aqua —
If fiber 13-24 are used in a loose tube design, the color sequence is repeated for fiber 13-24, but fibers are ring marked. Fiber 20 is
S12
clear (uncolored) since ring marking will not be visible on black colored fibers.
Tube color coding:
1 2 3-6 7 8-16
Red Blue White Blue White
The color sequence is repeated on additional tube layers and starts with 1 (red) on each layer.
FIN2012
Exceptions:
Tube identification in slotted core loose tube cables can alternatively be done by identifying the three line markings on the slotted core
profile as shown in the figure below. Note that there is always only three line markings regardless the number of slots.
Counting direction
6 2
5 3
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S12
Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
Counting direction
FIN2012
5. FIN2012
The FIN2012 is a color code standard used in Finland.
Fiber color coding:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Blue White Yellow Green Slate Orange Brown Aqua Black Violet Rose Red
If fiber 13-24 are used in a loose tube design, the color sequence is repeated for fiber 13-24, but fibers are ring marked. Fiber 20 is
clear (uncolored) since ring marking will not be visible on black colored fibers.
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Blue — White — Yellow — Green — Slate — Orange — Brown — Aqua — Clear — Violet — Rose — Red —
Tube color coding (layer 1):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Blue White Yellow Green Slate Orange Brown Aqua Black Violet Rose Red
Tube colors for cables with more than one layer according to FIN2012 will differ depending on cable design.
Please contact Hexatronic for more information.
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Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
6. Fiber Ribbon Cables
This section describes the color codes for fiber ribbon cables according to both the S12 system, (method 1 with stripe markings) and
Standard Type E.
Counting direction
Slotted Core Profile, 4-fiber Ribbon
1
Ribbon marking 6 2
1 line
2 lines
3 lines
4 lines
5 3
Fiber color
4 green
3 white 4
2 blue
1 red
Slotted Core Profile, 8-fiber Ribbon, 8 to 192 Fibers
Counting direction
Ribbon marking 1
1 line
2 lines
3 lines 6 2
4 lines
Fiber color
8 green
7 white
6 blue
5 red 5 3
4 green
3 white
2 blue
4
1 red
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Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
Slotted Core Profile, 8-fiber Ribbon, 288 to 640 Fibers Counting direction
1
1
2 8 2
3
4
5
6
7 7 3
8
9
10
6 4
Fiber color inside the ribbon:
Red, Blue, White, Green, Red, Blue, White, Green
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Color Codes and Counting Directions for Fiber Optic Cables
7. Submarine Cables (Loose Tube)
The fibers are color coded according to Standard Type E.
The fibers are grouped in bundles of 12 fibers. The groups are held together with yarn
of different colors to be able to separate the bundles.
Color coding of the fibers (bundle with yarn)
Fiber 1 Red
Fiber 2 Blue
Fiber 3 White
Fiber 4 Green
Fiber 5 Yellow
Fiber 6 Slate
Fiber 7 Brown
Fiber 8 Black
Fiber 9 Orange
Fiber 10 Purple
Fiber 11 Pink
Fiber 12 Turquoise
Yarn color
Yarn 1 - Red (fibers 1-12)
Yarn 2 - Blue (fibers 13-24)
Yarn 3 - White (fibers 25-36)
Yarn 4 - Green (fibers 37-48)
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