Steel blue

#4e8bab

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 grounded. A mid blue this balanced is a workhorse for corporate identity. Warm oranges and ambers opposite it add energy and grey keeps it professional.

Steel blue color values

Every conversion for #4e8bab, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#4e8bab

RGB78, 139, 171

HSL201, 37%, 49%

HSV201, 54%, 67%

CMYK54%, 19%, 0%, 33%

Lab55.1, -10.43, -22.93

XYZ19.73, 23.03, 41.93

Decimal5147563

Web safe#669999

Pantone640 C

Shades of steel blue

#477f9c #40738d #39667e #335a6f #2c4e60 #254251 #1e3642 #172933 #101d24 #0a1115

Tints of steel blue

#5c96b5 #6da1bc #7eacc4 #8fb7cc #9fc1d3 #b0ccdb #c1d7e3 #d1e2ea #e2ecf2 #f3f7f9

Colors that go with steel blue

Complementary#ab6e4e Analogous#4eab9c Analogous#4e5dab Triadic#ab4e8b Triadic#8bab4e Split complementary#ab4e5c Split complementary#ab9c4e

Steel blue in print

It converts to cmyk cleanly and holds its character from screen to paper. The cmyk build is 54, 19, 0, 33.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #4e8bab on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

54 19 0 33

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

54 21 4 39

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 #4e8bab straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #4e8bab; }
.text { color: #4e8bab; }
.border { border: 2px solid #4e8bab; }

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 #4e8bab against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #4e8bab 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 #4e8bab 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 #4e8bab 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 #4e8bab 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. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.