Light steel blue

#ababbc

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 grey blue at 240 degrees. Light blues like this feel trustworthy, common in finance and software. Warm oranges and ambers opposite it add energy and grey keeps it professional.

Light steel blue color values

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

Hex#ababbc
RGB171, 171, 188
HSL240, 11%, 70%
HSV240, 9%, 74%
CMYK9%, 9%, 0%, 26%
Lab70.47, 3.35, -8.68
XYZ40.43, 41.41, 53.44
Decimal11250620
Web safe#9999cc
Pantone536 C
Pantone536 CHex#ababbcRgb171 171 188Cmyk9 9 0 26Lab70 3 -9Darker#606078Deep#83839cLighter#d3d3db

Shades of light steel blue

Tints of light steel blue

Colors that go with light steel blue

Light steel blue in print

It converts to cmyk cleanly and holds its character from screen to paper. The cmyk build is 9, 9, 0, 26.

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

Coated stockgloss or silk, C
9 9 0 26
Ink sits on the surface, so colors stay bright and close to screen.
Uncoated stocknatural or matte, U
12 12 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 readrgb vs cmyk for print andwhat the k in cmyk means.

Light steel blue in css

Copy #ababbc straight into your stylesheet.

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

How light steel blue looks on light and dark

Light steel blue and accessibility

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

Textwhite text on this color
2.26:1
AAfail · AA largefail · AAAfail
Textblack text on this color
9.28:1
AApass · AA largepass · AAApass

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

Make posters, wallpaper and packaging art from light steel blue, free and print ready.

Open in pattern maker

How we calculate these values

Every value on this page for #ababbc is computed, not guessed. We convert from sRGB to each space with the standard formulas, so the codes match what design tools show. Two cmyk builds are shown because coated and uncoated papers behave differently, uncoated soaks up ink and needs more of it to hit the same target. The Pantone value is the closest reference by perceptual color distance and should be treated as a starting point, not a guaranteed match.