Cadet blue

#72a4bd

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

Cadet blue sits in the blue band, mid and soft. A mid blue this balanced is a workhorse for corporate identity. Warm oranges and ambers opposite it add energy and grey keeps it professional.

Cadet blue color values

Every conversion for #72a4bd, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#72a4bd

RGB114, 164, 189

HSL200, 36%, 59%

HSV200, 40%, 74%

CMYK40%, 13%, 0%, 26%

Lab64.81, -10.15, -18.12

XYZ29.4, 33.8, 53.12

Decimal7513277

Web safe#6699cc

Pantone550 C

Shades of cadet blue

#5f98b4 #4f8ba9 #477c97 #3e6d84 #355d72 #2c4e5f #243f4d #1b303a #122027 #0a1115

Tints of cadet blue

#7facc3 #8cb5c9 #99bdcf #a6c5d5 #b2cedb #bfd6e1 #ccdee7 #d9e7ed #e6eff3 #f3f7f9

Colors that go with cadet blue

Complementary#bd8b72 Analogous#72bdb1 Analogous#727fbd Triadic#bd72a4 Triadic#a4bd72 Split complementary#bd727f Split complementary#bdb172

Cadet blue in print

It sits in a comfortable part of the gamut and reproduces reliably on press. The cmyk build is 40, 13, 0, 26.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #72a4bd on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

40 13 0 26

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

41 16 4 32

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.

Cadet blue in css

Copy #72a4bd straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #72a4bd; }
.text { color: #72a4bd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #72a4bd; }

How cadet blue looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Cadet blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #72a4bd against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #72a4bd against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Cadet blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #72a4bd sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around cadet 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 cadet blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #72a4bd 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 cadet blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Here is how the numbers for #72a4bd are worked out. 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.