Localization based super-resolution microscopy techniques require precise drift correction methods because the achieved spatial resolution is close to both the mechanical and optical performance limits of modern light microscopes. Multi-color imaging methods require corrections in addition to those dealing with drift due to the static, but spatially dependent, chromatic offset between images. We present computer simulations to quantify this effect, which is primarily caused by the high- NA objectives used in super-resolution microscopy. Although the chromatic offset in well corrected systems is only a fraction of an optical wavelength in magnitude (<50 nm) and thus negligible in traditional diffraction limited imaging, we show that object colocalization by multi-color super-resolution methods is impossible without appropriate image correction. The simulated data are in excellent agreement with experiments using fluorescent beads excited and localized at multiple wavelengths. Finally we present a rigorous and practical calibration protocol to correct for chromatic optical offset, and demonstrate its efficacy for the imaging of transferrin receptor protein colocalization in HeLa cells using two-color direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM). more…