Steel blue

#4e869e

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

Steel blue is a mid blue that reads confident. 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 #4e869e, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#4e869e
RGB78, 134, 158
HSL198, 34%, 46%
HSV198, 51%, 62%
CMYK51%, 15%, 0%, 38%
Lab53.1, -11.58, -18.5
XYZ17.84, 21.14, 35.49
Decimal5146270
Web safe#669999
Pantone640 C
Pantone640 CHex#4e869eRgb78 134 158Cmyk51 15 0 38Lab53 -12 -18Darker#1f353eDeep#365d6eLighter#7ba6b9

Shades of steel blue

Tints of steel blue

Colors that go with steel blue

Steel blue in print

It converts to cmyk cleanly and holds its character from screen to paper. The cmyk build is 51, 15, 0, 38.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #4e869e on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
51 15 0 38
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
51 18 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 #4e869e straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #4e869e; }
.text { color: #4e869e; }
.border { border: 2px solid #4e869e; }

How steel blue looks on light and dark

Steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #4e869e against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
4.02:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Textblack text on this color
5.23:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #4e869e 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 #4e869e sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Your nameFounderhello@brand.comBusiness 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 #4e869e and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

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 #4e869e 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. 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 figure is the nearest match in our reference set by perceptual distance and it is an approximation, not an exact spot color.