Steel blue

#287c9f

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 weighty. 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 #287c9f, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#287c9f

RGB40, 124, 159

HSL198, 60%, 39%

HSV198, 75%, 62%

CMYK75%, 22%, 0%, 38%

Lab48.72, -12.79, -25.93

XYZ14.34, 17.37, 35.4

Decimal2653343

Web safe#336699

Pantone307 C

Shades of steel blue

#257292 #216784 #1e5d77 #1a5269 #17485c #143d4e #103341 #0d2833 #0a1e26 #061318

Tints of steel blue

#2e8eb6 #35a0cc #4dabd2 #64b6d8 #7cc1de #93cce4 #aad7ea #c2e2f0 #d9edf6 #f1f8fb

Colors that go with steel blue

Complementary#9f4b28 Analogous#289f86 Analogous#28419f Triadic#9f287c Triadic#7c9f28 Split complementary#9f2841 Split complementary#9f8628

Steel blue in print

The cmyk build is well inside gamut, so what you see on screen is close to what prints. The cmyk build is 75, 22, 0, 38.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #287c9f on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

75 22 0 38

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

73 24 4 44

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 read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Steel blue in css

Copy #287c9f straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #287c9f; }
.text { color: #287c9f; }
.border { border: 2px solid #287c9f; }

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 #287c9f against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #287c9f 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 #287c9f 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 #287c9f 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

Every value on this page for #287c9f is computed, not guessed. We convert from sRGB to each space with the standard formulas, so the codes match what design tools show. 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. The Pantone value is the closest reference by perceptual color distance and should be treated as a starting point, not a guaranteed match.