Light steel blue

#90bafd

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

Light steel blue sits in the blue band, light and vivid. Light blues like this feel trustworthy, common in finance and software. It pairs with warm neutrals for balance, or with a brighter accent for contrast.

Light steel blue color values

Every conversion for #90bafd, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#90bafd
RGB144, 186, 253
HSL217, 96%, 78%
HSV217, 43%, 99%
CMYK43%, 26%, 0%, 1%
Lab74.91, 2.93, -37.5
XYZ46.79, 48.14, 99.75
Decimal9485053
Web safe#99ccff
Pantone278 C
Pantone278 CHex#90bafdRgb144 186 253Cmyk43 26 0 1Lab75 3 -38Darker#0463faDeep#4a8efcLighter#d8e6fc

Shades of light steel blue

Tints of light steel blue

Colors that go with light steel blue

Light steel blue in print

The saturation is high, which is where rgb and cmyk drift apart, so a printed proof is worth it. The cmyk build is 43, 26, 0, 1.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #90bafd on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
43 26 0 1
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
44 28 4 7
The stock absorbs ink and gains dot, so it needs a heavier build and reads a touch softer.

This color is saturated enough to sit near the edge of cmyk gamut, so expect a small drop in punch on paper and proof it before a long run.

See how it converts in the rgb to cmyk converter, or read rgb vs cmyk for print and what the k in cmyk means.

Light steel blue in css

Copy #90bafd straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #90bafd; }
.text { color: #90bafd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #90bafd; }

How light steel blue looks on light and dark

Light steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #90bafd against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
1.98:1
AA fail · AA large fail · AAA fail
Textblack text on this color
10.63:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA pass

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #90bafd against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Light steel blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #90bafd 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 light 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 light steel blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #90bafd and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

Make posters, wallpaper and packaging art from light steel blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Here is how the numbers for #90bafd are worked out. We convert from sRGB to each space with the standard formulas, so the codes match what design tools show. 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.