Crimson

#bc153d

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

This is Crimson, a vivid red sitting at 346 degrees on the wheel. Deep reds like this carry heritage and premium packaging well. It pairs naturally with muted greens across the wheel and with off white for breathing room.

Crimson color values

Every conversion for #bc153d, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#bc153d

RGB188, 21, 61

HSL346, 80%, 41%

HSV346, 89%, 74%

CMYK0%, 89%, 68%, 26%

Lab40.52, 62.69, 23.53

XYZ21.85, 11.56, 5.5

Decimal12326205

Web safe#cc0033

Pantone1935 C

Shades of crimson

#ac1338 #9c1133 #8c102d #7c0e28 #6c0c23 #5c0a1e #4c0819 #3c0713 #2c050e #1c0309

Tints of crimson

#d51845 #e62352 #e93d66 #ec567a #ef708e #f289a2 #f5a3b6 #f8bcca #fad5de #fdeff2

Colors that go with crimson

Complementary#15bc94 Analogous#bc1590 Analogous#bc4015 Triadic#3dbc15 Triadic#153dbc Split complementary#15bc40 Split complementary#1590bc

Crimson 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 0, 89, 68, 26.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #bc153d on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

0 89 68 26

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

4 86 67 32

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.

Crimson in css

Copy #bc153d straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #bc153d; }
.text { color: #bc153d; }
.border { border: 2px solid #bc153d; }

How crimson looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Crimson and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #bc153d against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #bc153d against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through our contrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Crimson on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #bc153d sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around crimson? Pull matching colors from any photo with the color palette generator, or check a design for print with the rgb to cmyk converter.

Turn crimson into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #bc153d 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 crimson, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Every value on this page for #bc153d is computed, not guessed. Rgb, hsl, hsv, lab and xyz are derived through the usual sRGB conversion formulas. 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. For Pantone we return the nearest reference by perceptual distance, which gets you close but is not a substitute for a physical swatch book.