Dark gray

#a9a7b1

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

Dark gray is a near neutral, mid with barely any hue. Mid greys like this are the backbone of clean, editorial layouts. Almost anything sits on top of it, which is what makes a good neutral useful.

Dark gray color values

Every conversion for #a9a7b1, ready to copy. Hex, rgb, hsl, hsv, cmyk, cie-lab, xyz, decimal, web safe and the nearest Pantone.

Hex#a9a7b1

RGB169, 167, 177

HSL252, 6%, 67%

HSV252, 6%, 69%

CMYK5%, 6%, 0%, 31%

Lab68.93, 2.64, -4.89

XYZ38.12, 39.25, 47.16

Decimal11118513

Web safe#999999

Pantone5295 C

Shades of dark gray

#9996a2 #898694 #787585 #696774 #5a5863 #4b4953 #3c3b42 #2d2c31 #1e1d21 #0f0e10

Tints of dark gray

#b1afb8 #b8b7bf #c0bfc6 #c8c6cd #cfced4 #d7d6db #dfdee2 #e6e6e9 #eeeef0 #f6f6f7

Colors that go with dark gray

Complementary#afb1a7 Analogous#a7aab1 Analogous#aea7b1 Triadic#b1a9a7 Triadic#a7b1a9 Split complementary#b1aea7 Split complementary#aab1a7

Dark gray in print

It sits in a comfortable part of the gamut and reproduces reliably on press. The cmyk build is 5, 6, 0, 31.

The same color needs a different cmyk build depending on the paper. Here is #a9a7b1 on both.

Coated stockgloss or silk, C

5 6 0 31

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

Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U

9 10 4 37

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

Dark gray in css

Copy #a9a7b1 straight into your stylesheet.

.background { background-color: #a9a7b1; }
.text { color: #a9a7b1; }
.border { border: 2px solid #a9a7b1; }

How dark gray looks on light and dark

Sample text on black

Sample text on white

Text on this color

Dark gray and accessibility

Contrast ratios for #a9a7b1 against black and white text, measured to the WCAG standard.

Use black text on this color for readable body copy. To test #a9a7b1 against any other color, not just black and white, run the pair through ourcontrast checker for a live WCAG reading.

Dark gray on a business card, sticker and pattern

A quick look at how #a9a7b1 sits on real print products. Start any of these in the maker.

Business card

Sticker

Repeat pattern

Building a full palette around dark gray? Pull matching colors from any photo with thecolor palette generator, or check a design for print with thergb to cmyk converter.

Turn dark gray into a seamless pattern

Four patterns built from #a9a7b1 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 dark gray, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Here is how the numbers for #a9a7b1 are worked out. 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. The Pantone figure is the nearest match in our reference set by perceptual distance and it is an approximation, not an exact spot color.