Charcoal

#484a41

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

This is Charcoal, a deep neutral that behaves like a grey. Neutrals like this hold a palette together quietly. Almost anything sits on top of it, which is what makes a good neutral useful.

Charcoal color values

Every conversion for #484a41, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#484a41

RGB72, 74, 65

HSL73, 6%, 27%

HSV73, 12%, 29%

CMYK3%, 0%, 12%, 71%

Lab31.01, -2.72, 5.09

XYZ6.08, 6.66, 5.97

Decimal4737601

Web safe#333333

Pantone446 C

Shades of charcoal

#42443c #3d3e37 #373932 #32332d #2c2d28 #262723 #21221e #1b1c18 #151613 #10100e

Tints of charcoal

#5a5d52 #6d7062 #7f8273 #909485 #a1a497 #b2b5aa #c3c5bd #d4d6d0 #e5e6e3 #f6f7f5

Colors that go with charcoal

Complementary#43414a Analogous#4a4841 Analogous#444a41 Triadic#41484a Triadic#4a4148 Split complementary#41444a Split complementary#48414a

Charcoal in print

The cmyk build is well inside gamut, so what you see on screen is close to what prints. The cmyk build is 3, 0, 12, 71.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #484a41 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

3 0 12 71

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

7 4 15 77

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.

Charcoal in css

Copy #484a41 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #484a41; }
.text { color: #484a41; }
.border { border: 2px solid #484a41; }

How charcoal looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Charcoal and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #484a41 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #484a41 against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Charcoal on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #484a41 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around charcoal? Pull matching colors from any photo with the color palette generator, or check a design for print with the rgb to cmyk converter.

Turn charcoal into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #484a41 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 charcoal, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

The figures for #484a41 come from standard color math, shown so you can check them. Rgb, hsl, hsv, lab and xyz are derived through the usual sRGB conversion formulas. 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.