Steel blue

#618aaa

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. It pairs with warm neutrals for balance, or with a brighter accent for contrast.

Steel blue color values

Every conversion for #618aaa, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#618aaa
RGB97, 138, 170
HSL206, 30%, 52%
HSV206, 43%, 67%
CMYK43%, 19%, 0%, 33%
Lab55.71, -5.5, -21.34
XYZ21.27, 23.62, 41.47
Decimal6392490
Web safe#669999
Pantone646 C
Pantone646 CHex#618aaaRgb97 138 170Cmyk43 19 0 33Lab56 -5 -21Darker#2b4051Deep#44657fLighter#92acc0

Shades of steel blue

Tints of steel blue

Colors that go with steel blue

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 43, 19, 0, 33.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #618aaa on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
43 19 0 33
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
44 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 read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Steel blue in css

Copy #618aaa straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #618aaa; }
.text { color: #618aaa; }
.border { border: 2px solid #618aaa; }

How steel blue looks on light and dark

Steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #618aaa against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
3.67:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail
Textblack text on this color
5.72:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #618aaa 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 #618aaa 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 #618aaa 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

Every value on this page for #618aaa is computed, not guessed. 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 figure is the nearest match in our reference set by perceptual distance and it is an approximation, not an exact spot color.