Кратко: We mapped 568 bead colors across Perler (103), Hama (92), Artkal-S (199), and Artkal-C (174) using CIEDE2000 color-difference math against a 291-color MARD reference. Result: only 31 of 291 reference colors (10.7%) have an “excellent” match (ΔE < 2) in the best-matching brand — most colors are approximations, and about a quarter have no close equivalent in any other brand at all.
Every bead crafter eventually hits the same wall: a pattern calls for a color your brand doesn’t make, or you’re holding a bag of Hama and the tutorial lists Perler codes. The internet’s answer is usually a blurry photo of two bead bags side by side. We wanted real numbers, so we computed them. This page is the full data — how many colors exist, how they map across brands, and where the gaps are.
Method note: brand manufacturers do not publish machine-readable color values, so our RGB data comes from the beadcolors open community palette (contributor-attributed). Every entry in our dataset is flagged калибровка: ожидает_человека until it is verified against physical beads — treat single-color decisions accordingly. The cross-brand math itself is exact: CIEDE2000 computed on those RGB values, validated against the colormath reference implementation to 4 decimal places.
Сколько существует цветов бусин?
| Brand | Line | Цвета в нашем наборе данных |
|---|---|---|
| Perler | 5 мм миди | 103 |
| Hama | 5 мм миди | 92 |
| Artkal | Серия S, 5 мм | 199 |
| Artkal | Серия C, 2,6 мм мини | 174 |
| Total | 568 |
Artkal’s S series is the largest single midi line at 199 colors — nearly double Perler’s 103. But raw count is misleading: many of those extra colors sit in ranges other brands simply don’t cover (glow-in-the-dark, pearl, and ultra-specific pastels), which is exactly where cross-brand matching breaks down.
Cross-brand matching: the ΔE numbers
We took a 291-color MARD reference set and found each color’s closest match in Perler, Hama, and Artkal-S using CIEDE2000 — the same perceptual color-difference formula used in the print and textile industries. ΔE < 2 means two colors are indistinguishable to most eyes (“excellent”); ΔE 2–4 is a good match; 4–7 is approximate; above 7 is visibly different (“poor”).
| Качество совпадения | Perler | Hama | Artkal-S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent (ΔE < 2) | 3 | 12 | 16 |
| Хорошо (2–4) | 40 | 54 | 73 |
| Приблизительно (4–7) | 141 | 106 | 134 |
| Poor (≥ 7) | 107 | 119 | 68 |
The headline finding: Artkal-S is the best cross-brand match for the reference set, with 89 colors (31%) at good-or-better and the smallest poor-match tail (68 of 291, 23%). Perler is the hardest brand to match into — 107 reference colors (37%) have no close Perler equivalent, and only 3 match excellently. If your pattern was designed in one brand and you bead in another, expect roughly one color in four to come out visibly different no matter which direction you convert.
The worst matches: colors with no good equivalent
The biggest gaps cluster in two places: very saturated mid-tones (bright teals, lime greens) and specialty finishes. The five worst Perler matches in our data, with their ΔE distances:
| Эталонный цвет | Ближайший Perler | ΔE |
|---|---|---|
| MARD D10 | 80-15243 | 14.82 |
| MARD D21 | 80-15258 | 13.79 |
| MARD D17 | 80-19093 | 13.62 |
| MARD H7 | 80-19018 | 13.19 |
| MARD P15 | 80-19091 | 12.29 |
At ΔE 12–15, these aren’t “close enough” — they’re different colors. A sky-blue pattern converted with these matches comes out purple-ish. If a pattern you love uses a color in the poor-match zone for your brand, the practical moves are: substitute two adjacent shades and blend them across the area, or order that one color from the original brand.
Что это значит для ваших схем
- Design in the brand you own. A pattern made in Artkal-S converts worst to Perler; start with the palette you’ll actually buy.
- Fewer colors convert better. A 10-color pattern survives brand conversion far better than a 20-color one, because every color matters less individually.
- Watch the poor-match list. Before a big project, check whether any of your pattern’s colors sit in your brand’s ΔE ≥ 7 zone — those are the ones to buy specially.
The бесплатный редактор схем applies this same data live: switch the palette between brands and your pattern re-matches every color to that brand’s nearest bead, so you can see the conversion before you bead it. New to the craft? Start with our 25 схем для начинающих — all designed with small, conversion-friendly palettes — and iron them with the полное руководство по глажке.
FAQ по данным о цветах
What is ΔE?
ΔE (Delta E) measures how different two colors look to the human eye, using the CIEDE2000 formula. Below 1 is invisible to almost everyone; 2–4 is a close match; above 7 is clearly a different color. It’s the standard metric in printing, textiles, and paint.
Why don’t Perler and Hama publish official color values?
We asked the same question. None of the three major brands publishes machine-readable RGB or Lab values for their bead lines — every color chart online is community-measured, which is why our dataset flags every entry as pending physical verification and why we publish our method openly.
Can I mix bead brands in one project?
Yes — all standard 5 мм миди beads fuse together fine. The risk is purely color: two brands’ “red” may differ by ΔE 5+. Check our match quality tables and stick to excellent-or-good matches when mixing.
Where can I download the full dataset?
A browsable color library with per-color cross-brand matches is in development. When it ships, every color above links to its own detail page with the full ΔE table.