Blue band on a resistor
On a resistor, a blue band is the digit 6, the multiplier ×1,000,000, or, as the tolerance band at the end, ±0.25%.
How to read it
In the IEC 60062 color code blue is 6 as a digit band and ×1,000,000 (10⁶, “x 1M” in TT Electronics’ table) as the multiplier. As the tolerance band it is ±0.25%, TT Electronics’ tolerance letter C. As a first digit it is the 6 of 68: the University of Colorado Colorado Springs physics prelab reads blue, gray, black as 68 Ω.
Also searched as: 0.25% tolerance band, blue resistor band, blue stripe on resistor, resistor color code blue.
This explains what a resistor’s markings mean. Marking schemes vary between makers and series, and the part’s own datasheet takes precedence. It is not a guide to building or repairing electronics.
As a sixth band
On a six-band resistor blue is a temperature coefficient of 10 ppm/K, in Panasonic’s chart and Vishay’s marking sheet alike.
Where the charts disagree
The University of Central Florida’s table gives blue no tolerance. Vishay, TT Electronics and Panasonic give it ±0.25%.
Read next
- Next in Resistor color codesViolet band on a resistorOn a resistor, a violet (purple) band is the digit 7, the multiplier ×10,000,000, or, as the tolerance band at the end, ±0.1%.
- The same shape in Smoke and CO alarm soundsLow-frequency 520 Hz alarm (sleeping rooms)A fire alarm in a sleeping room that sounds a low buzz in place of a high-pitched beep. It is the three-beep fire alarm rhythm at 520 Hz, which NFPA 72 requires of alarms provided to wake people in sleeping areas.
More resistor color codes
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with letters and numbers or lines.
Sources
- Surface Mount Resistor Marking, Document number 20020 (revision 25 May 2010), Vishay Draloric (Vishay Intertechnology), Color code table; temperature coefficient marking
- Technical Note TN004: Methods for Marking Values on Resistors, TN004 (09.24), TT Electronics, Colour code table
- Resistor Color Codes: Thorough Explanations of How to Interpret, Calculate, and Remember Them!, Technical article (24 October 2025), Panasonic Industry, §2 color-to-value chart
- III. Standard Resistor Color Code, EEL 3123 Linear Circuits II Lab Manual, Appendix III (revised March 2023), University of Central Florida, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Table A – 1 Electronic Color Code
- PES 2160 Prelab Questions, PES 2160 Prelab 1, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Department of Physics and Energy Science, Prelab answer 4
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed October 9, 2026. How we research
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