ColrShift424242 — RGB, HSL, CMYK and Contrast
A neutral at 26% lightness and 0% saturation, which puts it at 10.05:1 against white and 2.09:1 against black. The tables below give the notation conversions, the tints and shades that keep the hue intact, and the harmonies that pair with it.
Notation conversions
| Notation | Value |
|---|---|
| HEX | 424242 |
| RGB | rgb(66, 66, 66) |
| HSL | hsl(0, 0%, 26%) |
| CMYK | cmyk(0%, 0%, 0%, 74%) |
| Relative luminance | 0.0545 |
| Perceived brightness | 25.9 / 100 |
Contrast against pure white and pure black
Pair this colour with the two extremes to see which is the safer text partner. AA needs 4.5:1 for body text and 3:1 for large text; AAA raises that to 7:1 and 4.5:1.
| Against | Hex | Ratio | AA text | AA large | AAA text |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #FFFFFF | white | 10.05:1 | pass | pass | pass |
| #000000 | black | 2.09:1 | fail | fail | fail |
Tints and shades
Lightness moves in ten-point steps while hue and saturation stay fixed, which keeps the colour recognisable in a scale. The last column is the ratio against white text, useful for deciding where a scale stops working as a background.
| Step | Hex | HSL | vs white text |
|---|---|---|---|
| shade -30 | #000000 | hsl(0, 0%, 0%) | 21.00:1 |
| shade -20 | #0f0f0f | hsl(0, 0%, 6%) | 19.17:1 |
| shade -10 | #292929 | hsl(0, 0%, 16%) | 14.55:1 |
| tint +10 | #5c5c5c | hsl(0, 0%, 36%) | 6.69:1 |
| tint +20 | #757575 | hsl(0, 0%, 46%) | 4.61:1 |
| tint +30 | #8f8f8f | hsl(0, 0%, 56%) | 3.23:1 |
Harmonies
| Scheme | Hex |
|---|---|
| Complementary | #424242 |
| Analogous −30 | #424242 |
| Analogous +30 | #424242 |
| Triadic −120 | #424242 |
| Triadic +120 | #424242 |
Measured rather than eyeballed: hue 0.0°, saturation 0.0%, lightness 25.9%, relative luminance 0.0545 — four decimals is the precision the WCAG formula actually needs — and perceived brightness 25.9 out of 100. Entry 59 of 69 in this library, it scores 10.05:1 on white and 2.09:1 on black, a 7.96 spread. The complementary #424242 sits 180° away on the wheel, and the scale brackets it with #000000 below and #8f8f8f above.
Nearby colours
Frequently asked questions
What text colour should sit on 424242?
Black gives 2.09:1 and white gives 10.05:1, so white wins at 10.05:1. That clears the 4.5:1 AA threshold for normal text and the 7:1 AAA threshold as well.
Do the CMYK numbers match a print workflow?
They are the naive conversion from RGB, which assumes no ink limit, no colour profile and no black generation strategy. Real print work needs a profile-aware conversion; the values here are the ones the converter reports and are best used as a starting point for a designer rather than a press-ready separations file.
Convert any other colour, or test a pair against each other, in the ColrShift colour converter and contrast checker. The colour library groups every entry on this site by hue family.