About this tool
Converts colors between the most common formats: HEX, RGB, HSL, HSV, and CMYK. Useful for moving a color between design tools, CSS code, digital illustration, and print. Helps you understand the relationships between formats and pick the most natural representation for what you're doing (RGB for screens, CMYK for print, HSL for adjusting hue).
How to use
- Enter a color value in any of the formats.
- The other formats fill in automatically with the equivalent.
- Edit any format and the others recompute.
Frequently asked questions
- When should I use each format?
- HEX (#RRGGBB) is the standard in CSS and web design. RGB is useful when manipulating separate channels in code. HSL and HSV are great for manually adjusting hue, saturation, and lightness, creating variations of the same color or building palettes. CMYK is specific to professional print and rarely makes sense for screens.
- Is the CMYK conversion accurate?
- It's a mathematical approximation. Professional CMYK depends on the printer's color profile, the paper, and the inks used, and exact conversion requires color management software. For casual or indicative use, the simple conversion in this tool is fine, but for professional printing always confirm with a color proof.
- Why does the screen show fewer colors than CMYK can print?
- The gamuts (representable color spaces) are different. RGB (screens) and CMYK (print) cover distinct parts of the spectrum. Some vivid colors exist only in one and others only in the other. HEX colors that look vibrant on screen can lose vividness when printed, and vice versa.