Black

#252521

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

Black carries almost no chroma, so it works as a neutral. Dark neutrals like this stand in for black without the harshness. Almost anything sits on top of it, which is what makes a good neutral useful.

Black color values

Every conversion for #252521, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#252521

RGB37, 37, 33

HSL60, 6%, 14%

HSV60, 11%, 15%

CMYK0%, 0%, 11%, 85%

Lab14.55, -0.94, 2.66

XYZ1.7, 1.83, 1.7

Decimal2434337

Web safe#333333

Pantone419 C

Shades of black

#23231f #21211d #1f1f1b #1d1d1a #1b1b18 #191916 #161614 #141412 #121210 #10100e

Tints of black

#3b3b35 #525249 #68685d #7e7e71 #939386 #a7a79c #bbbbb3 #cfcfc9 #e3e3df #f7f7f6

Colors that go with black

Complementary#212125 Analogous#252321 Analogous#232521 Triadic#212525 Triadic#252125 Split complementary#212325 Split complementary#232125

Black in print

It runs deep in print, so a rich black build underneath keeps it from looking flat. The cmyk build is 0, 0, 11, 85.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #252521 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

0 0 11 85

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

4 4 14 91

The stock absorbs ink and gains dot, so it needs a heavier build and reads a touch softer.

This color converts to cmyk comfortably and should hold on press.

See how it converts in the rgb to cmyk converter, or readrgb vs cmyk for print andwhat the k in cmyk means.

Black in css

Copy #252521 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #252521; }
.text { color: #252521; }
.border { border: 2px solid #252521; }

How black looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Black and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #252521 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #252521 against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through ourcontrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Black on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #252521 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around black? Pull matching colors from any photo with thecolor palette generator, or check a design for print with thergb to cmyk converter.

Turn black into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #252521 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 black, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Here is how the numbers for #252521 are worked out. We convert from sRGB to each space with the standard formulas, so the codes match what design tools show. The coated and uncoated cmyk builds differ because uncoated stock absorbs more ink and gains dot, so the same color needs a heavier, slightly duller build on press. The Pantone value is the closest reference by perceptual color distance and should be treated as a starting point, not a guaranteed match.