Crimson

#ce2e40

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

This is Crimson, a strong red sitting at 353 degrees on the wheel. A mid red this confident is a natural for retail signage and calls to action. It pairs naturally with muted greens across the wheel and with off white for breathing room.

Crimson color values

Every conversion for #ce2e40, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#ce2e40
RGB206, 46, 64
HSL353, 63%, 49%
HSV353, 78%, 81%
CMYK0%, 78%, 69%, 19%
Lab46.24, 61.85, 29.59
XYZ27.36, 15.45, 6.39
Decimal13512256
Web safe#cc3333
Pantone199 C
Pantone199 CHex#ce2e40Rgb206 46 64Cmyk0 78 69 19Lab46 62 30Darker#59141cDeep#94212eLighter#d76c78

Shades of crimson

Tints of crimson

Colors that go with crimson

Crimson in print

The cmyk build is well inside gamut, so what you see on screen is close to what prints. The cmyk build is 0, 78, 69, 19.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #ce2e40 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
0 78 69 19
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
4 76 67 25
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.

Crimson in css

Copy #ce2e40 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #ce2e40; }
.text { color: #ce2e40; }
.border { border: 2px solid #ce2e40; }

How crimson looks on light and dark

Crimson and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #ce2e40 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Textwhite text on this color
5.14:1
AA pass · AA large pass · AAA fail
Textblack text on this color
4.09:1
AA fail · AA large pass · AAA fail

Use white text on this color for readable body copy. To test #ce2e40 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 #ce2e40 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 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 #ce2e40 and its shades, free at print quality. Click any one to keep editing in the pattern maker.

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 #ce2e40 is computed, not guessed. 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 figure is the nearest match in our reference set by perceptual distance and it is an approximation, not an exact spot color.