On Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 9:14:21 AM UTC-5, Stephen Wolstenholme wrote:

On Thu, 12 Dec 2019 04:59:11 -0800 (PST), Michael Terrell wrote:

'If they can't make good parts, let them go out of business.'

That's what my first company was often told. The "power" resistors
were white with the value printed on them in black. After some
exchange of messages I discovered that of our main customer wanted
green rather than white. We started encapsulating the resistors in a
ceramic that was green. Then we got complaints that black writing on
green was difficult to read. So far as I know the company is now using
imported components!

Some want odd combinations as a cheap trademark, or to make it impossible to repair something without leaving any evidence. They could have dyed the bare white ceramic any color they wanted, or do like Western Electric did, and manufacture their own.

Many US suppliers are gone, because their customers didn't want to pay for quality. Sprague was one of them. OEMs could get parts that barely lasted through the warranty for half what a long life US made capacitor cost when they closed their plant near Orlando. Now, it is a division of Vishay along with other well known American brand names.

BTW, I hate light green signs with white printed text. Over time, the green fades, and the white discolors or is covered by mold that grows on the paint.