diff --git a/collects/scribble/html-render.ss b/collects/scribble/html-render.ss
index 06d7c1d9..1e4c82d3 100644
--- a/collects/scribble/html-render.ss
+++ b/collects/scribble/html-render.ss
@@ -432,15 +432,26 @@
            [(string? style) 
             `((span ([class ,style]) ,@(super render-element e part ri)))]
            [(and (pair? style)
-                 (eq? (car style) 'show-color))
-            `((font ((style ,(format "background-color: ~a"
-                                    (apply string-append "#"
-                                           (map (lambda (v) (let ([s (format "0~x" v)])
-                                                              (substring s (- (string-length s) 2))))
-                                                (cdr style))))))
-                    (tt nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp))
-              nbsp
-              ,@(super render-element e part ri))]
+                 (or (eq? (car style) 'bg-color)
+                     (eq? (car style) 'color)))
+            (unless (and (list? style)
+                         (or (and (= 4 (length style))
+                                  (andmap byte? (cdr style)))
+                             (and (= 2 (length style))
+                                  (member (cadr style)
+                                          '("white" "black" "red" "green" "blue" "cyan" "magenta" "yellow")))))
+              (error 'render-font "bad color style: ~e"  style))
+            `((font ((style ,(format "~acolor: ~a"
+                                     (if (eq? (car style) 'bg-color)
+                                         "background-"
+                                         "")
+                                     (if (= 2 (length style))
+                                         (cadr style)
+                                         (apply string-append "#"
+                                                (map (lambda (v) (let ([s (format "0~x" v)])
+                                                                   (substring s (- (string-length s) 2))))
+                                                     (cdr style)))))))
+                    ,@(super render-element e part ri)))]
            [(target-url? style)
             (if (current-no-links)
                 (super render-element e part ri)
diff --git a/collects/scribble/latex-render.ss b/collects/scribble/latex-render.ss
index 292d591f..15a1d69a 100644
--- a/collects/scribble/latex-render.ss
+++ b/collects/scribble/latex-render.ss
@@ -68,7 +68,11 @@
         (printf "\\newcommand{\\smaller}[1]{{\\footnotesize #1}}\n")
         (printf "\\definecolor{PaleBlue}{rgb}{0.90,0.90,1.0}\n")
         (printf "\\definecolor{LightGray}{rgb}{0.90,0.90,0.90}\n")
-        (printf "\\newcommand{\\schemeinput}[1]{\\colorbox{LightGray}{\\hspace{-0.5ex}\\schemeinputbg{#1}\\hspace{-0.5ex}}}\n")
+        (printf "\\newcommand{\\intextcolor}[2]{\\textcolor{#1}{#2}}\n")
+        (printf "\\newcommand{\\intextrgbcolor}[2]{\\textcolor[rgb]{#1}{#2}}\n")
+        (printf "\\newcommand{\\incolorbox}[2]{{\\fboxrule=0pt\\fboxsep=0pt\\colorbox{#1}{#2}}}\n")
+        (printf "\\newcommand{\\inrgbcolorbox}[2]{{\\fboxrule=0pt\\fboxsep=0pt\\colorbox[rgb]{#1}{#2}}}\n")
+        (printf "\\newcommand{\\schemeinput}[1]{\\incolorbox{LightGray}{\\schemeinputbg{#1}}}\n")
         (printf "\\newcommand{\\highlighted}[1]{\\colorbox{PaleBlue}{\\hspace{-0.5ex}\\schemeinputbg{#1}\\hspace{-0.5ex}}}\n")
         (printf "\\newcommand{\\plainlink}[1]{#1}\n")
         (printf "\\newcommand{\\techlink}[1]{#1}\n")
@@ -175,6 +179,23 @@
                   [else (error 'latex-render "unrecognzied style symbol: ~s" style)])]
                [(string? style)
                 (wrap e style (regexp-match? #px"^scheme(?!error)" style))]
+               [(and (pair? style)
+                     (or (eq? (car style) 'bg-color)
+                         (eq? (car style) 'color)))
+                (wrap e (format "~a{~a}"
+                                (format (if (eq? (car style) 'bg-color)
+                                            "in~acolorbox"
+                                            "intext~acolor")
+                                        (if (= (length style) 2)
+                                            ""
+                                            "rgb"))
+                                (if (= (length style) 2)
+                                    (cadr style)
+                                    (format "~a,~a,~a"
+                                            (/ (cadr style) 255.0)
+                                            (/ (caddr style) 255.0)
+                                            (/ (cadddr style) 255.0))))
+                      #f)]
                [(image-file? style) 
                 (let ([fn (install-file (image-file-path style))])
                   (printf "\\includegraphics{~a}" fn))]
diff --git a/collects/scribblings/scribble/struct.scrbl b/collects/scribblings/scribble/struct.scrbl
index 75676766..e8ea211e 100644
--- a/collects/scribblings/scribble/struct.scrbl
+++ b/collects/scribblings/scribble/struct.scrbl
@@ -342,6 +342,19 @@ The @scheme[style] field is normally either
        @scheme['subscript], @scheme['superscript], or
        @scheme['hspace];}
 
+ @item{a list of the form @scheme[(list 'color _name)] or
+       @scheme[(list 'color _byte _byte _byte)] to set the text color,
+       where @scheme[_name] is one of @scheme["white"],
+       @scheme["black"], @scheme["red"], @scheme["green"],
+       @scheme["blue"], @scheme["cyan"], @scheme["magenta"], or
+       @scheme["yellow"], or three @scheme[_byte]s specify RGB
+       values;}
+
+ @item{a list of the form @scheme[(list 'bg-color _name)] or
+       @scheme[(list 'bg-color _byte _byte _byte)] to set the text
+       background color (with the same constraints and meanings as for
+       @scheme['color]);}
+
  @item{an instance of @scheme[target-url] to generate a hyperlink; or}
 
  @item{an instance of @scheme[image-file] to support an inline image.}