Steel blue

#438bb0

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 200 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 #438bb0, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#438bb0

RGB67, 139, 176

HSL200, 45%, 48%

HSV200, 62%, 69%

CMYK62%, 21%, 0%, 31%

Lab54.86, -11.12, -26.2

XYZ19.38, 22.79, 44.45

Decimal4426672

Web safe#339999

Pantone640 C

Shades of steel blue

#3d7fa1 #377391 #316782 #2c5a72 #264e63 #204254 #1a3644 #142a35 #0e1e26 #081216

Tints of steel blue

#5097bc #62a2c3 #74adca #86b7d1 #98c2d8 #aacddf #bcd7e5 #cee2ec #e0edf3 #f2f7fa

Colors that go with steel blue

Complementary#b06843 Analogous#43b09f Analogous#4354b0 Triadic#b0438b Triadic#8bb043 Split complementary#b04354 Split complementary#b09f43

Steel blue in print

It converts to cmyk cleanly and holds its character from screen to paper. The cmyk build is 62, 21, 0, 31.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #438bb0 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

62 21 0 31

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

61 23 4 37

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 #438bb0 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #438bb0; }
.text { color: #438bb0; }
.border { border: 2px solid #438bb0; }

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 #438bb0 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #438bb0 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 #438bb0 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 #438bb0 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 #438bb0 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. 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. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.