Light steel blue

#9eaebd

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

This is Light steel blue, a muted blue at 209 degrees. 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.

Light steel blue color values

Every conversion for #9eaebd, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#9eaebd

RGB158, 174, 189

HSL209, 19%, 68%

HSV209, 16%, 74%

CMYK16%, 8%, 0%, 26%

Lab70.33, -2.4, -9.54

XYZ38.42, 41.22, 54.07

Decimal10399421

Web safe#9999cc

Pantone644 C

Shades of light steel blue

#8b9eb0 #788fa3 #667f96 #596f83 #4c5f70 #404f5e #333f4b #262f38 #191f25 #0c0f12

Tints of light steel blue

#a7b5c3 #afbcc9 #b8c4cf #c1cbd5 #c9d2da #d2d9e0 #dae0e6 #e3e8ec #eceff2 #f4f6f8

Colors that go with light steel blue

Complementary#bdad9e Analogous#9ebdbc Analogous#9e9fbd Triadic#bd9eae Triadic#aebd9e Split complementary#bd9e9f Split complementary#bdbd9e

Light steel blue in print

It sits in a comfortable part of the gamut and reproduces reliably on press. The cmyk build is 16, 8, 0, 26.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #9eaebd on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

16 8 0 26

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

19 11 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.

Light steel blue in css

Copy #9eaebd straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #9eaebd; }
.text { color: #9eaebd; }
.border { border: 2px solid #9eaebd; }

How light steel blue looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Light steel blue and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #9eaebd against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #9eaebd 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 #9eaebd sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business 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 #9eaebd 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 light steel blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

The figures for #9eaebd come from standard color math, shown so you can check them. We convert from sRGB to each space with the standard formulas, so the codes match what design tools show. The coated and uncoated cmyk builds differ because uncoated stock absorbs more ink and gains dot, so the same color needs a heavier, slightly duller build on press. The Pantone value is the closest reference by perceptual color distance and should be treated as a starting point, not a guaranteed match.