The production of coloured shaded relief is possible by combining a series of printing plates containing different coloured inks. A single shaded relief (usually drawn in grey) is the starting point for photo mechanically producing multiple printing plates.
![Colour plate grey](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_plate_gray.jpg)
![Colour grey (map)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_map_gray.jpg)
Plate in blue-grey of medium strength for the main tone of the relief shading.
![Colour plate grey-violet](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_plate_pur.jpg)
![Colour grey-violet (map)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_map_pur.jpg)
Grey-violet plate as a supplementary relief shading tone.
![Colour plate light blue](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_plate_blu.jpg)
![Colour light blue (map)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_map_pur_blu.jpg)
Light blue plate for hypsometric tints to reinforce shaded slopes and for lake surfaces.
![Colour plate yellow](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_plate_yel.jpg)
![Colour yellow (map)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_map_pur_blu_yel.jpg)
Yellow plate for ground and light toning.
![Colour plate pink](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_plate_red.jpg)
![Colour pink (map)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_map_pur_blu_yel_red.jpg)
Extremely pale pink plate for rocks and high regions.
Five different colour plates for the school map of the Canton of Grisons derived from a single grey-scale relief shading. From “Cartographic Relief Presentation” by Eduard Imhof (1982).
The combination of multiple printing plates in different colours creates a unique map that is known as the “Swiss style”.
![Coloured relief (Canton of Grisons)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_grisons_relief.jpg)
![Map with coloured relief (Canton of Grisons)](http://www.reliefshading.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/color_grisons_map.jpg)
Section of the school map of the Canton of Grisons – with and without linear elements and rock drawing. Example of a “Swiss style”-map. From “Cartographic Relief Presentation” by Eduard Imhof (1982).