Three primary color (red, green and blue) filters consisting of subwavelength triangular-lattice hole arrays in an aluminum film on glass were simulated and fabricated. A silicon dioxide cap layer, deposited on the patterned aluminum film, was found to almost double the transmission efficiency for all the filters. The measured peak transmittance for each color filter was above 30%, exhibiting a wavelength spectrum with a full-width at half-maximum of approximately 100 nm. Simulation results of various structures with different cap layers revealed the enhanced coupling between surface plasmon resonances at both sides of the metal film in a symmetrical configuration. It was found that gratings with as few as three periods were sufficient to demonstrate filtering. The effect of metal thickness and hole size was investigated in detail.