About the CMYK to HEX
This tool converts CMYK ink percentages to a HEX code, so a print colour can be used on the web. Enter values as cmyk(c%, m%, y%, k%), one per line. The conversion goes through RGB and is an approximation, since print and screen colour spaces do not match exactly.
Every result is a valid six-digit code, because the RGB values it comes from can never fall outside 0 to 255. The reverse is not true, and that asymmetry is the useful part: almost any ink mix has a screen equivalent, while plenty of screen colours have no honest ink equivalent at all. Bringing a print colour onto the web is therefore the safe direction to travel, and the one that needs no proof.
The usual reason to do this is a site that has to sit alongside printed collateral, where the only colour reference anyone can produce is the CMYK build from a brochure. Convert it here, then test the result against your text and background with the Contrast Checker, because a colour picked to look good as ink on uncoated stock will often miss the 4.5:1 threshold on a white page.
To convert HEX to CMYK, use HEX to CMYK; for every format at once, the Color Converter. If the result is close but needs adjusting, Lighten and Darken moves it a fixed percentage without changing the hue.
How to use
- Paste cmyk() values, one per line.
- Copy the HEX codes.
Common questions
- Is the HEX exact?
- It is an approximation; the print and screen gamuts differ, so expect a small shift.
- What format should CMYK be in?
- Four percentages: cmyk(84%, 0%, 45%, 24%).
- Can I get RGB too?
- Use CMYK to RGB, or the Color Converter for all formats.