<Tr> <Td> Old Glory Red </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 33.9 </Td> <Td> 51.2 </Td> <Td> 24.7 </Td> <Td> 5.5 R </Td> <Td> 3.3 / 11.1 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 39.9 </Td> <Td> 57.3 </Td> <Td> 28.7 </Td> <Td>. 698 </Td> <Td>. 132 </Td> <Td>. 203 </Td> <Td> #B22234 </Td> <Td>. 196 </Td> <Td> 1.000 </Td> <Td>. 757 </Td> <Td>. 118 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Old Glory Blue </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 23.2 </Td> <Td> 13.1 </Td> <Td> − 26.4 </Td> <Td> 8.2 PB </Td> <Td> 2.3 / 6.1 </Td> <Td> </Td> <Td> 26.9 </Td> <Td> 11.5 </Td> <Td> − 30.3 </Td> <Td>. 234 </Td> <Td>. 233 </Td> <Td>. 430 </Td> <Td> #3C3B6E </Td> <Td>. 886 </Td> <Td>. 851 </Td> <Td>. 243 </Td> <Td>. 122 </Td> </Tr> <P> As with the design, the official colors are only officially required for flags produced for the U.S. federal government, and other colors are often used for mass - market flags, printed reproductions, and other products intended to evoke flag colors . The practice of using more saturated colors than the official cloth is not new . As Taylor, Knoche, and Granville wrote in 1950: "The color of the official wool bunting (of the blue field) is a very dark blue, but printed reproductions of the flag, as well as merchandise supposed to match the flag, present the color as a deep blue much brighter than the official wool ." </P> <P> Sometimes, Pantone Matching System (PMS) approximations to the flag colors are used . One set was given on the website of the U.S. embassy in London as early as 1998; the website of the U.S. embassy in Stockholm claimed in 2001 that those had been suggested by Pantone, and that the U.S. Government Printing Office preferred a different set . A third red was suggested by a California Military Department document in 2002 . In 2001, the Texas legislature specified that the colors of the Texas flag should be "(1) the same colors used in the United States flag; and (2) defined as numbers 193 (red) and 281 (dark blue) of the Pantone Matching System ." </P>

Who authorized the stars and stripes for the official american flag