Steel blue

#1478b8

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

This is Steel blue, a vivid blue at 203 degrees. 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 #1478b8, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#1478b8

RGB20, 120, 184

HSL203, 80%, 40%

HSV203, 89%, 72%

CMYK89%, 35%, 0%, 28%

Lab48.31, -3.12, -41.13

XYZ15.66, 17.04, 47.81

Decimal1341624

Web safe#0066cc

Pantone300 C

Shades of steel blue

#126ea8 #116499 #0f5989 #0d4f79 #0c456a #0a3b5a #08314b #06263b #051c2b #03121c

Tints of steel blue

#1789d2 #1f99e7 #39a5e9 #53b0ec #6dbcef #87c8f2 #a1d4f5 #bbe0f8 #d5ecfa #eff8fd

Colors that go with steel blue

Complementary#b85414 Analogous#14b8a6 Analogous#1426b8 Triadic#b81478 Triadic#78b814 Split complementary#b81426 Split complementary#b8a614

Steel blue in print

It is saturated enough that the cmyk build can shift slightly from screen to press, so proof it. The cmyk build is 89, 35, 0, 28.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #1478b8 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

89 35 0 28

Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

86 36 4 34

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 #1478b8 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #1478b8; }
.text { color: #1478b8; }
.border { border: 2px solid #1478b8; }

How steel blue looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #1478b8 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #1478b8 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 #1478b8 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business 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 #1478b8 and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

Arches Signature stripes Gem Shingles

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

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

The figures for #1478b8 come from standard color math, shown so you can check them. The rgb, hsl, hsv, cie-lab and xyz values follow the standard conversions from the sRGB color space. The uncoated cmyk build carries more ink than the coated one, which is what a printer would compensate for when the same color runs on a rougher stock. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.