Steel blue

#4181bb

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

This is Steel blue, a soft blue at 209 degrees. A mid blue this balanced is a workhorse for corporate identity. It pairs with warm neutrals for balance, or with a brighter accent for contrast.

Steel blue color values

Every conversion for #4181bb, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#4181bb

RGB65, 129, 187

HSL209, 48%, 49%

HSV209, 65%, 73%

CMYK65%, 31%, 0%, 27%

Lab52.3, -2.04, -36.49

XYZ19.0, 20.41, 49.95

Decimal4293051

Web safe#3399cc

Pantone3005 C

Shades of steel blue

#3b76ab #366a9a #305f8a #2a5479 #244869 #1f3d58 #193248 #132638 #0e1b27 #081017

Tints of steel blue

#518dc3 #6399c9 #75a4cf #87b0d5 #99bcdb #aac7e2 #bcd3e8 #cedfee #e0ebf4 #f2f6fa

Colors that go with steel blue

Complementary#bb7b41 Analogous#41bbb8 Analogous#4144bb Triadic#bb4181 Triadic#81bb41 Split complementary#bb4144 Split complementary#bbb841

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 65, 31, 0, 27.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #4181bb on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

65 31 0 27

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

64 33 4 33

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.

Steel blue in css

Copy #4181bb straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #4181bb; }
.text { color: #4181bb; }
.border { border: 2px solid #4181bb; }

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 #4181bb against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #4181bb against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through ourcontrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Steel blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #4181bb 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 thecolor palette generator, or check a design for print with thergb to cmyk converter.

Turn steel blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #4181bb 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

Here is how the numbers for #4181bb 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. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.