Light steel blue

#bcb9ff

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

Light steel blue is a light blue that reads relaxed. 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 #bcb9ff, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#bcb9ff

RGB188, 185, 255

HSL243, 100%, 86%

HSV243, 27%, 100%

CMYK26%, 27%, 0%, 0%

Lab77.64, 15.87, -34.11

XYZ56.14, 52.61, 101.8

Decimal12368383

Web safe#ccccff

Pantone658 C

Shades of light steel blue

#9590ff #6e67ff #463eff #1f15ff #0a00eb #0800c2 #070099 #050070 #030048 #01001f

Tints of light steel blue

#c1beff #c6c3ff #cbc9ff #d0ceff #d5d3ff #dad8ff #dfdeff #e4e3ff #e9e8ff #eeedff

Colors that go with light steel blue

Complementary#fcffb9 Analogous#b9d9ff Analogous#dfb9ff Triadic#ffbcb9 Triadic#b9ffbc Split complementary#ffdfb9 Split complementary#d9ffb9

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 26, 27, 0, 0.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #bcb9ff on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

26 27 0 0

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

28 29 4 6

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 readrgb vs cmyk for print andwhat the k in cmyk means.

Light steel blue in css

Copy #bcb9ff straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #bcb9ff; }
.text { color: #bcb9ff; }
.border { border: 2px solid #bcb9ff; }

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 #bcb9ff against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #bcb9ff against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through ourcontrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Light steel blue on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #bcb9ff 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 thecolor palette generator, or check a design for print with thergb to cmyk converter.

Turn light steel blue into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #bcb9ff 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 #bcb9ff 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 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.