#42A8CD Color

#42A8CD is rgb(66, 168, 205) in RGB, hsl(196, 58%, 53%) in HSL, and about cmyk(68%, 18%, 0%, 20%) in CMYK. It has no registered color name of its own — the closest is Maximum Blue (#47ABCC), very hard to tell apart at ΔE 2.48. Black text is the more readable choice on this background.

#42A8CD

HEX#42A8CD

RGBrgb(66, 168, 205)

HSLhsl(196, 58%, 53%)

HSVhsv(196, 68%, 80%)

CMYKcmyk(68%, 18%, 0%, 20%)

OKLCHoklch(68.8% 0.107 225.8)

LABlab(64.15% -21.66 -28.16)

LCHlch(64.15% 35.52 232.44)

What #42A8CD Is Called

Most hex codes have no name: there are 16.7 million of them and a few thousand registered names. These are the named colors nearest to #42A8CD, ordered by CIE76 distance in CIELAB. Anything under about ΔE 2 is a difference most people cannot see.

Maximum Blue#47ABCCΔE 2.48 Cerulean (Crayola)#1DACD6ΔE 5.52 Pacific Blue#1CA9C9ΔE 6.2 Moonstone#3AA8C1ΔE 7.15 Blue-green#0D98BAΔE 7.31 Blizzard Blue#50BFE6ΔE 8.42

Browse the full index of named colors A-Z or every teal in the library.

#42A8CD Channel Values

How #42A8CD breaks down in each color model. Hue is measured in degrees around the color wheel; saturation, lightness, and the CMYK inks are percentages.

Model	Channels	Notes
RGB	R 66 · G 168 · B 205	8-bit channels as sent to the display
HSL	H 196° · S 58% · L 53%	Easiest model for building lighter and darker variants
HSV	H 196° · S 68% · V 80%	Matches the picker in most design tools
CMYK	C 68% · M 18% · Y 0% · K 20%	Approximate ink mix; confirm with an ICC profile before printing
Luminance	2.72:1 vs white · 7.71:1 vs black	WCAG 2.2 relative-luminance contrast ratios

Text Contrast & Accessibility

WCAG 2.2 contrast ratios for text on a #42A8CD background. AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text; AAA requires 7:1. Contrast is one check, not a full accessibility review.

Fails AAWhite text2.72:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

TextBlack text7.71:1AA normal AA large AAA normal

Need a specific ratio against another background? Open #42A8CD in the contrast checker.

Colors That Go With #42A8CD

Pairings derived from color-wheel relationships. The complementary color sits opposite #42A8CD; analogous colors sit beside it; triadic and split-complementary sets spread evenly around the wheel. Select any swatch for its own breakdown.

Base

Complementary

Analogous

Analogous

Triadic

Triadic

Split comp.

Split comp.

Tints & Shades of #42A8CD

Lighter tints and darker shades built by moving the lightness channel while holding hue and saturation, which is what you want for hover states, backgrounds, and text variants.

Tints

Shades

Want a full 50-950 ramp with semantic roles? Generate design tokens from #42A8CD.

How #42A8CD Looks with Color Vision Deficiency

Simulated with the Viénot, Brettel & Mollon LMS projection model. Anomalous types are rendered as partial versions of the matching dichromacy, which is an approximation rather than a per-person clinical model.

Typical#42A8CD

Protanopia#9C9CCD

Protanomaly#82A1CD

Deuteranopia#9090CE

Deuteranomaly#799ACE

Tritanopia#2DADAD

Tritanomaly#37ABBB

Achromatopsia#9D9D9D

Test a full palette in the color blindness simulator.

Using #42A8CD in Code

Copy-ready declarations for the places this color usually ends up.

CSS custom property--color-42a8cd: #42A8CD;

CSS backgroundbackground-color: #42A8CD;

Tailwind configcolors: { 'color-42a8cd': '#42A8CD' }

SwiftUIColor(red: 0.259, green: 0.659, blue: 0.804)

Android XML<color name="color_42a8cd">#42A8CD</color>

SVG fillfill="#42A8CD"

More Teal Colors

#42A8CD sits in the teal family. These are its neighbours across that family's full range, each with its own breakdown.

002424 f5ffff 002a38 f0ffff 002d2e eefbfb 003333 ecfeff 003542 ecf7f9 003838 ebffff 006466 009999 00ebeb 0d1616 192929 24fbff 36747d 50bfe6 73a9c2 8dd9cc aec6cf ccffff

#42A8CD Frequently Asked Questions

What color is #42A8CD?

#42A8CD is a mid-tone teal — rgb(66, 168, 205) in RGB and hsl(196, 58%, 53%) in HSL. It carries no registered color name of its own; the closest named color is Maximum Blue (#47ABCC), which is very hard to tell apart at a CIE76 distance of 2.48.

What is the RGB value of #42A8CD?

#42A8CD is rgb(66, 168, 205) — red 66, green 168, and blue 205 on the 0-255 scale.

What is the CMYK value of #42A8CD?

#42A8CD converts to approximately cmyk(68%, 18%, 0%, 20%). CMYK output is a mathematical approximation for planning; confirm production print colors with your printer and ICC profile.

Should text on #42A8CD be black or white?

Black text is the more readable choice. #42A8CD scores 2.72:1 against white and 7.71:1 against black, and WCAG 2.2 asks for at least 4.5:1 for normal body text.

Can I write #42A8CD as a CSS color keyword?

No. #42A8CD is not one of the CSS color keywords, so it has to be written as a hex, rgb() or hsl() value. The closest keyword is skyblue (#87CEEB) at a CIE76 distance of 16.54, which is visibly different.

Open #42A8CD in a Tool

Hex to RGB Hex to HSL Hex to CMYK Hex to OKLCH Hex to Pantone Build a palette Make a gradient

Keep exploring: every teal in the color library, the guide to shades of teal, or the full color library.