Through-hole resistors often print their value as colored bands. The first bands are digits, the next is multiplier, and the last band on a four-band part is tolerance.
Four-band example
| Band | Color | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown | Digit 1 |
| 2 | Black | Digit 2 |
| 3 | Red | ×100 |
| 4 | Gold | ±5% |
Brown–black–red–gold is 1 0 ×100 = 1 kΩ at 5%. Use the color code decoder when you have several parts on the bench.
Five-band precision parts
Five-band resistors add a third significant digit before the multiplier. Tolerance may appear as a fifth band or be printed numerically on the body for small SMD parts that skip stripes entirely.