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RGB to Pantone Converter

This RGB to Pantone converter finds the nearest of 95 Pantone names for red, green and blue values. It uses a built-in table that is an unofficial approximation, not Pantone's own data.

Runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server. Sources: W3C CSS Color 4, Pantone Updated

Whole numbers from 0 to 255. The result updates as you type.

Nearest entry in this page's unofficial table

PANTONE 307 C

Table value #006BA6, rgb(0, 107, 166). Color difference ΔE 7.6.

Your color: #336699, rgb(51, 102, 153)
Table value: #006BA6

In CIELAB (L, a, b): your color 41.52, −4.57, −33.49. Table value 42.54, −8.96, −39.66.

Not an official conversion. This is the nearest of 95 entries in an approximation table of unknown origin. It is not Pantone's own data, and no entry has been checked against it. For print work, choose the color from a current physical Pantone guide.

Next nearest entries

  1. PANTONE 301 C, #005587, ΔE 8.1
  2. PANTONE 2955 C, #003366, ΔE 21.8
  3. PANTONE 7545 C, #5A6B79, ΔE 23.6
  4. PANTONE 285 C, #0072CE, ΔE 23.8

How the RGB to Pantone match is made

There is no formula that turns RGB values into a Pantone color. Pantone colors are inks that Pantone defines and sells guides for, and its color data is proprietary. What this page does is look for the closest value in a small table that is built into it:

  1. Your red, green and blue values are read as an sRGB color.
  2. That color, and each of the 95 table values, is converted to CIELAB. CIELAB describes a color by lightness (L) and two color axes (a and b), and was designed so that distance in it follows what the eye sees more closely than distance between RGB numbers does.
  3. The difference between your color and each table value is the straight-line distance between their L, a and b values. This measure is called ΔE76.
  4. The entry with the smallest difference is shown, followed by the next four.

ΔE = √((L1 − L2)² + (a1 − a2)² + (b1 − b2)²)

A difference of 0 means your color has the same sRGB value as the table entry. It does not mean the ink will match. For scale, the difference between black and white is 100.

RGB to Pantone example: rgb(51, 102, 153)

Enter red 51, green 102, blue 153, a mid blue (the same color as #336699).

  • In CIELAB: L 41.52, a −4.57, b −33.49.
  • The table lists PANTONE 307 C as rgb(0, 107, 166), which is L 42.54, a −8.96, b −39.66.
  • ΔE = √(1.02² + 4.39² + 6.17²) = 7.6.

No other entry is closer. The next nearest is PANTONE 301 C, listed as rgb(0, 85, 135), at ΔE 8.1.

A second example shows the limits of the table. Enter 255, 80, 0 and the difference is 0, because the table lists that exact value.

But it lists it under four different names, PANTONE 1655 C, 1665 C, 021 C and 172 C, which cannot all be right. The page shows the first and lists the other three below it.

Nearest entries in the RGB to Pantone page's unofficial table for rgb(255, 80, 0), #FF5000: PANTONE 1655 C, 1665 C, 021 C and 172 C all at a color difference of 0.0, then 165 C at 10.8.
Four names share one table value, so a difference of 0 does not settle which ink is meant.

What is in the unofficial Pantone table

The table has 95 entries with 88 different color values. Almost all of the names end in C, Pantone's suffix for a color printed on coated paper. Its origin is not documented and it has not been checked against Pantone's data. Twelve entries share a value with another entry.

Pantone's Formula Guide lists 2,614 spot colors. With 95 entries the table can only point you to a region of the guide, and often the nearest entry is not near at all. Check the ΔE before you rely on a name.

Why print needs a physical Pantone guide

A screen shows color with light. A press shows it with ink on paper. The same RGB values look different from one screen to the next, and the same ink looks different on coated and uncoated paper.

If the color is going to be printed on packaging, signage or merchandise, look up the suggested name in a current Pantone guide, compare the swatch with your design under good light, and agree the final choice with your printer.

If you have a hex code such as #336699, the hex to Pantone converter takes it directly, and the hex to RGB converter turns RGB values into a hex code and back. More color tools are under everyday tools.

Pantone is a trademark of Pantone LLC. This page is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pantone.

RGB to Pantone Converter: FAQ

Can RGB be converted to Pantone exactly?
No. RGB values describe light from a screen. A Pantone spot color is an ink, defined by Pantone and judged from printed swatches. Any RGB to Pantone result is a nearest match, and the match on this page comes from an unofficial table, so treat it as a place to start looking.
Does this page give the same answer as the hex to Pantone page?
Yes. Both pages use the same 95-entry table and the same calculation, so rgb(51, 102, 153) here and #336699 there return the same entry and the same ΔE.
How is the nearest color chosen?
Your color and every table value are converted from sRGB to CIELAB. The page then takes the straight-line distance between the two sets of L, a and b values, a measure called ΔE76, and shows the entry with the smallest distance. If two entries are equally close, the one that comes first in the table is shown.
Which RGB does the page assume?
sRGB, the color space used for web colors, with whole numbers from 0 to 255 for each channel. Values from another RGB space, such as Adobe RGB, describe different colors and will not match correctly.
Where do the values in the table come from?
We do not know. The table was inherited with this tool and its origin is not documented. It has not been checked against Pantone's data, and twelve entries share a value with another entry, which shows that it is not exact.

Sources

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