VisiBone Web-Safe Swatch Collections for Adobe ImageReady and Photoshop
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C O N T E N T S

     visib01.aco    Original VisiBone swatch collection, 21 rows of 16 squares
     visib02.aco    New improved compact collection, 16 rows of 16 squares


P U R P O S E

These swatch collections contain all 216 web-safe colors that are universally
supported by web browsers, particularly those on 256-color computers.  The
swatches are arranged in a color wheel to help you quickly see the color
choices you have and find the one you think looks best.  The format is readily
used by Adobe ImageReady and Photoshop


I N S T A L L A T I O N

ImageReady:

     1.  Bring up ImageReady.
     2.  If swatches aren't displayed already, pull down the Windows
         menu and click Show Swatches.
     3.  Click on the big black triangle in the upper right corner of the
         swatch collection pane.
     4.  If you'd like these swatches to come up every time you load
         ImageReady instead of the default swatches, you can rename
         visib01.aco or visib02.aco to default.aco.

Photoshop:

     1.  Unzip and store the enclosed ACO files in the Photoshop Goodies
         folder in the Color Palettes Subfolder.
     2.  Bring up Photoshop.
     3.  Click on the big black triangle in the upper right corner of the
         swatch collection.
     4.  Load visib01.aco and visib02.aco into the same directory as the
         default.aco file that comes from Adobe.  You should see where
         after you hit the triangle.

     (Sorry the Photoshop instructions are so loose.  I couldn't get
     my hands on Photoshop to try them out myself.  Feedback is welcome
     to stein@visibone.com)


B A C K G R O U N D

The need for web site designers to stick to a certain set of 216 colors
has been widely publicised since about 1996.  The set goes by many names:

     Netscape palette
     Web-safe colors
     Browser-safe colors
     Webmaster's Palette

For more info on this set of colors and its importance:

     http://www.wpdfd.com/wpdpal.htm
     http://www.lynda.com/hex.html
     http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/design/color/safety.asp

Many of today's color picking web sites and graphics design tools have
facilities to help you find or convert to web-safe colors.  But what was
missing in all of them, and what inspired me to create these swatch
collections, is that no one was presenting the entire set of web-safe colors
arranged symmetrically by hue, as in a color wheel.  Here are two
such arrangements, an open airy one and a ruthlessly compacted one.


D I S T R I B U T I O N

Use of these swatch collections is free.  Distribution is unlimited.  Check
the native habitat for Mac stuffit files, Linux GIMP files, updates and other
news:

     http://www.visibone.com/swatches

Also available from VisiBone are a free online color lab:

     http://www.visibone.com/colorlab

and a stunning color reference poster:

     http://www.visibone.com/color


C O N T A C T

Feedback, questions, suggestions, and pithy pontifications are always welcome:

     Bob Stein
     VisiBone International Color Laboratories
     12717 West Sunrise Blvd
     Sunrise, FL  33323
     www.visibone.com
     stein@visibone.com

