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HEX to Pantone Converter

Convert any HEX code to Pantone: paste it and get the closest Pantone (PMS) spot inks, ranked by how close they look (ΔE 2000), on coated or uncoated paper. Or type a Pantone code to get its HEX value.

2,597 Pantone Solid colours, coated and uncoated, including the 224 added in September 2026 · CIEDE2000 matching

Paste a HEX or rgb() value anywhere on the page. Matched on our server in CIELAB with ΔE 2000.

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IndistinguishableSolid CoatedExampleBest match

PANTONE 185 C

ΔE 20000.00The eye can't tell them apart.

HEX
RGB
CMYK
L*a*b*
  • This is the screen value of 185 C itself.
  • 185 U (uncoated) is ΔE 11.6 from 185 C: the same ink looks different on more porous paper.

Nearest inks8 of 20 · Solid Coated

ΔE 2000 to your colour

Ranked by CIEDE2000 (CIE 2001)

PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. DNS Robot is not affiliated with Pantone. Screen colours are approximations: check a printed Pantone guide before you print.Codes: Formula Guide, September 2026 · colours: Pantone's screen values

HEX to Pantone converter: #E4002B matched to the closest Pantone inks with Delta E, and a map of nearby Pantone coloursHEX to Pantone converter: #E4002B matched to the closest Pantone inks with Delta E, and a map of nearby Pantone coloursYour colourThe HEX code, from the field, the colour picker or the eyedropper. Pasted RGB works too.The closest inkYour colour beside the nearest Pantone ink, with the difference in ΔE 2000 and what it means.The runners-upThe next closest inks, each with its own difference, to choose by eye.The neighbourhoodWhere your colour sits among the Pantone inks around it: hue around the circle, lightness on the scale.
A HEX colour matched to the nearest Pantone inks. Select a number to see what each part shows.

How do you convert HEX to Pantone?

Turn the HEX code into a colour the eye can compare, then pick the Pantone ink that looks least different. Paste the code above and the converter does all four steps; for #E4002B it finds PANTONE 185 C at a difference of 0.

  1. 1. Read the HEX code #E4002B is three bytes: red E4 (228), green 00 (0), blue 2B (43). Three-digit codes like #E02 double each digit.
  2. 2. Place it in CIELAB The RGB values become L*a*b*, a space built so equal distances look about equally different: lightness L*, green–red a*, blue–yellow b*.
  3. 3. Measure every ink The converter measures the colour difference to each of the 2,597 Pantone inks in the chosen library with CIEDE2000, the formula the print trade uses.
  4. 4. Rank and judge The smallest difference wins. Under 1 nobody can tell them apart; above 5 the ink is only the nearest one, not a match.
  1. 1HEX#E4002B
  2. 2RGBR228G0B43228, 0, 43
  3. 3L*a*b* (D50)L* 48.8 · a* 74.7 · b* 46.9
  4. 4Nearest ink185 C0.01795 C3.01788 C3.9ΔE 2000 · against all 2,597 inks

PANTONE 185 C · ΔE 0.0 · Indistinguishable

#E4002B, step by step

Is there an exact Pantone colour for every HEX code?

No. Pantone inks cover only part of what a screen can show: for 33% of colours spread evenly over the screen's range the nearest coated ink is within ΔE 2, and for 80% it is within 5. Saturated screen colours lie outside every ink: pure blue #0000FF is ΔE 9.0 away from its nearest ink, 2736 C.

A screen makes colour with light, and its most saturated blues, greens and magentas are brighter than any ink on paper can reflect. Pantone's sRGB values for its inks are themselves screen stand-ins for printed colour. So the converter always names the nearest ink, and says plainly when it isn't close.

#FF0000#00FF00#0000FF#FFFF00#00FFFF#FF00FFred +a*green −a*yellow +b*blue −b*
The screen's pure colours and their nearest coated inks
Screen colourNearest coated inkΔE 2000
#FF0000Bright Red C3.2Close
#00FF007488 C10.5Nearest only
#0000FF2736 C9.0Nearest only
#FFFF00395 C4.9Noticeable
#00FFFF3242 C9.3Nearest only
#FF00FF252 C9.8Nearest only

Everything a screen shows (sRGB)What the inks reach

Measured over 2,597 Pantone Solid Coated inks with CIEDE2000. Every lightness flattened onto one plane: the inks' reach at one lightness is smaller still.

What does Delta E mean, and how close is close enough?

Delta E (ΔE) is the size of the difference between two colours as people see it. Under 1 it is invisible; 1 to 2 shows only side by side; 2 to 3.5 is close; 3.5 to 5 is noticeable; above 5 the colours are clearly different.

Printers commonly hold spot and brand colours to ΔE 2 or less; the ISO 12647-2 offset standard lists 3.5 for the cyan, magenta and yellow solids and 5 for black. The converter uses CIEDE2000, which corrects the older CIE76 formula for how people see differences: CIE76 exaggerates differences between saturated colours and is least uniform in the blues and greys, where CIEDE2000 adds extra corrections.

  • ΔE 0.5Indistinguishable
  • ΔE 1Very close
  • ΔE 2Close
  • ΔE 3.5Noticeable
  • ΔE 5Nearest only
  • ΔE 10Nearest only
  • < 1IndistinguishableNo visible difference, even side by side.
  • 1–2Very closeVisible only side by side, to a trained eye.
  • 2–3.5CloseA small difference you can see side by side.
  • 3.5–5NoticeableClearly different side by side, similar apart.
  • ≥ 5Nearest onlyA different colour: the nearest ink, not a match.
PANTONE 185 C against colours at growing distances

Coated or uncoated: which Pantone should you choose?

Choose by the paper the job prints on: C codes show the ink on glossy coated paper, U codes the same ink on uncoated paper, where it soaks in and looks lighter and duller. The same code differs between the two by a median ΔE of 5.4.

Brochures, magazines and packaging are usually coated; letterhead, envelopes and notebooks uncoated. To convert HEX to Pantone uncoated colours, switch the library above to Uncoated: a colour that matches 185 C closely can be far from 185 U.

The same ink on two papers

  • 18511.6
  • 28610.5
  • Reflex Blue14.3
  • Black17.4
  • Cool Gray 97.3
  • Process Blue1.1

Coated | UncoatedMedian over every ink: ΔE 5.4

Pantone to HEX code: how do you find a Pantone colour's HEX?

Type the code in the converter's Pantone → field: 185 C gives #E4002B, 185 U gives #F15060. The HEX value is how a screen shows the ink; it is a stand-in, so check printed colour against a physical guide.

The converter reads codes the way people write them: PMS 185, 185c, pantone 286 c, Reflex Blue, cool grey 9. The table lists HEX values of colours people look up most.

PantoneCoated HEXUncoated HEX
185#E4002B#F15060
186#C8102E#D2515E
Red 032#EF3340#F65058
Warm Red#F9423A#FF665E
Orange 021#FE5000#FF6C2F
Yellow#FEDD00#FFE800
354#00B140#00A95B
Green#00AB83#00AC8C
Process Blue#0085CA#0083C4
286#0032A0#3155A4
Reflex Blue#001489#3B489D
Purple#BB29BB#BF54B5
Black#2D2926#625D5A
Cool Gray 9#75787B#898B8F

Why do HEX to Pantone converters give different answers?

Because they measure difference in different ways. For #FF0000, plain RGB distance and the older ΔE 76 both pick 2347 C, while ΔE 2000 picks Bright Red C, which looks closer (3.2 against 6.4).

Across 4,096 colours spread evenly over the screen's range, the nearest ink by ΔE 76 differed from the nearest by ΔE 2000 for 48% of them, and plain RGB distance for 54%. Converters also differ in their ink lists: many still carry Pantone's library from before 2019 or values that were never Pantone's.

#FF0000 · Measured by RGB distance

picks 2347 C

looks ΔE 6.4 away

  1. 2. 2035 C10.2
  2. 3. 185 C9.6

#FF0000 · Measured by ΔE 76

picks 2347 C

looks ΔE 6.4 away

  1. 2. 2028 C3.8
  2. 3. Bright Red C3.2

#FF0000 · Measured by ΔE 2000

picks Bright Red C

looks ΔE 3.2 away

  1. 2. 2028 C3.8
  2. 3. 172 C4.8
#FF0000, three ways to measure

How do you use a Pantone colour in Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma or Canva?

Adobe removed Pantone's colour books between August 2022 and October 2023: Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign now need Pantone Connect (from $30 a month or $95 a year) to pick Pantone swatches. CorelDRAW and Affinity still include Pantone palettes; Figma and Canva have no built-in Pantone library.

Without a licence, use the HEX value for the screen and give the Pantone code to your printer: a swatch named exactly PANTONE 185 C and set to spot colour prints with that ink. Files that already use Pantone swatches keep them.

  1. Aug 2022Adobe starts removing Pantone books
  2. Oct 2023The last Pantone books leave Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop
  • Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign

    Install the Pantone Connect extension from Adobe Exchange; the built-in Pantone books were removed between August 2022 and October 2023.

  • CorelDRAW

    Palettes docker → Palette libraries → Spot → PANTONE: more than 25 Pantone palettes come with the suite.

  • Affinity

    Swatches panel → the PANTONE® categories.

  • Figma

    No built-in Pantone library: paste the HEX value and name the style after the Pantone code.

  • Canva

    No Pantone library: use the HEX value; Canva converts to CMYK when you print with Canva or download a PDF Print with the CMYK profile.

Which Pantone colours were added in 2026?

Pantone added 224 colours to its Formula Guide on 16 September 2026, numbered 6225 C to 6448 C, bringing the graphics library to 2,614 solid colours. The converter matches against all 224.

Many converters still miss them, and some miss the 2019 and 2022–23 additions as well. Look one up by typing its code, such as 6288 C.

6225 C → 6448 C224

The 224 Pantone colours of September 2026. Each square is one of the new inks, as a screen shows it; hover for its code.

HEX to Pantone: questions and answers

How do I find the closest Pantone to a HEX code?

Paste the HEX code into the converter above. It turns the code into L*a*b*, measures the CIEDE2000 difference to each of 2,597 Pantone inks in the coated or uncoated library, and lists the nearest first with how close each looks. A difference under 2 is a close match; above 5 the ink is only the nearest one.

Can a HEX code be converted to Pantone exactly?

Only when the HEX code is a Pantone ink's own screen value, like #E4002B for PANTONE 185 C. Otherwise the converter finds the nearest ink. Screens show many colours no ink reaches, so for 33% of colours spread evenly over the HEX range the nearest coated ink is within ΔE 2, and for the rest it is further away.

What Pantone colour is #FF0000?

No Pantone ink is pure screen red. The nearest coated ink to #FF0000 is Bright Red C, at a ΔE 2000 of 3.2: close, but visibly different side by side. Converters that measure with RGB distance or ΔE 76 name 2347 C instead, which looks further away.

What is the HEX code for Pantone 185 C?

PANTONE 185 C shows on screen as #E4002B, and 185 U, the same ink on uncoated paper, as #F15060. Type any code into the converter's Pantone → field to get its HEX, RGB, CMYK and L*a*b* values. A HEX value is a screen stand-in for the printed ink.

Is HEX to PMS the same as HEX to Pantone?

Yes. PMS stands for Pantone Matching System, the numbered spot-ink system Pantone launched in 1963, so PMS 185 and PANTONE 185 C name the same ink, and a HEX code to PMS conversion is a HEX to Pantone one. The C or U after the number says whether it is shown on coated or uncoated paper.

What do the C and U after a Pantone number mean?

C means the ink as it looks on coated paper, glossy like a magazine; U means uncoated paper, porous like letterhead. It is the same ink, but uncoated paper absorbs it, so U colours look lighter and duller. Pick the library that matches the paper your job prints on.

What Delta E is good enough for a brand colour?

A common print tolerance for spot and brand colours is ΔE 2 or less, and under 1 is invisible. ISO 12647-2 lists 3.5 for the cyan, magenta and yellow solids on press and 5 for black. Above 5, a match is only the nearest available colour, and a different ink or a custom mix is worth asking the printer about.

Why does the Pantone colour on my screen differ from the printed guide?

A screen shows light, and a guide shows ink on paper under the room's light. Screens also differ in calibration and range. Pantone itself warns that on-screen colours are simulations. Use the converter to choose candidates, then confirm against a physical Pantone guide under daylight.

Does the converter include the new 2026 Pantone colours?

Yes. The 224 colours Pantone added on 16 September 2026, 6225 C to 6448 C, are in both the coated and uncoated libraries, along with the 2019 and 2022–23 additions that many other converters lack. Type a code such as 6288 C into the Pantone → field to see its HEX value and its nearest neighbours.

Can I convert 3-digit or 8-digit HEX codes?

Yes. A 3-digit code such as #E02 doubles each digit (#EE0022), and an 8-digit code's last two digits are transparency, which the converter ignores. You can also paste rgb(228, 0, 43) or pick a colour from anywhere on the screen with the eyedropper, where the browser supports it.

Is DNS Robot affiliated with Pantone?

No. DNS Robot is not affiliated with or endorsed by Pantone LLC. PANTONE® and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. The converter names the nearest Pantone inks to a colour as a guide; always confirm a printed colour against a printed Pantone guide.

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