Steel blue

#0086cd

Hex, rgb, cmyk and Pantone values for steel blue, with shades, tints, matching colors and free print quality patterns.

Steel blue is a deep blue that reads serious. Deep blues like this anchor serious, established brands. It pairs with warm neutrals for balance, or with a brighter accent for contrast.

Steel blue color values

Every conversion for #0086cd, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#0086cd
RGB0, 134, 205
HSL201, 100%, 40%
HSV201, 100%, 80%
CMYK100%, 35%, 0%, 20%
Lab53.45, -4.22, -45.02
XYZ19.54, 21.46, 60.87
Decimal34509
Web safe#0099cc
Pantone3005 C
Pantone3005 CHex#0086cdRgb0 134 205Cmyk100 35 0 20Lab53 -4 -45Darker#00293eDeep#005786Lighter#21abf3

Shades of steel blue

Tints of steel blue

Colors that go with steel blue

Steel blue in print

The saturation is high, which is where rgb and cmyk drift apart, so a printed proof is worth it. The cmyk build is 100, 35, 0, 20.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #0086cd on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
100 35 0 20
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
96 36 4 26
The stock absorbs ink and gains dot, so it needs a heavier build and reads a touch softer.

This color is saturated enough to sit near the edge of cmyk gamut, so expect a small drop in punch on paper and proof it before a long run.

See how it converts in the rgb to cmyk converter, or read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Steel blue in css

Copy #0086cd straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #0086cd; }
.text { color: #0086cd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #0086cd; }

How steel blue looks on light and dark

Steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #0086cd against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
3.97:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Textblack text on this color
5.29:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #0086cd against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Steel blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #0086cd sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Your nameFounderhello@brand.comBusiness card
Sticker
Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around steel blue? Pull matching colors from any photo with the color palette generator, or check a design for print with the rgb to cmyk converter.

Turn steel blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #0086cd and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

Make posters, wallpaper and packaging art from steel blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Every value on this page for #0086cd is computed, not guessed. Rgb, hsl, hsv, lab and xyz are derived through the usual sRGB conversion formulas. Two cmyk builds are shown because coated and uncoated papers behave differently, uncoated soaks up ink and needs more of it to hit the same target. The Pantone value is the closest reference by perceptual color distance and should be treated as a starting point, not a guaranteed match.