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RGB to Pantone Converter

Set red, green and blue, or paste an RGB value, 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 RGB.

2,597 Pantone Solid colours, coated and uncoated, including the 224 added in September 2026 · CIEDE2000 matching
#008080

Drag a channel, type 0–255, or paste 228, 0, 43 or rgb(228 0 43).

Try
Very closeSolid CoatedExampleBest match

PANTONE 6140 C

ΔE 20001.14A difference you see only side by side.

HEX
RGB
CMYK
— not published
L*a*b*
  • 6140 C is slightly darker and duller than your colour, and leans cyan.
  • 6140 U (uncoated) is ΔE 8.1 from 6140 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

RGB to Pantone converter: red, green and blue sliders matched to the closest Pantone inks, ranked by Delta E 2000RGB to Pantone converter: red, green and blue sliders matched to the closest Pantone inks, ranked by Delta E 2000Red, green, blueEach slider shows the colours it can reach from where the others stand; type a number or paste rgb(…).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.The neighbourhoodWhere your colour sits among the Pantone inks around it.
An RGB colour matched to the nearest Pantone inks. Select a number to see what each part shows.

How do you convert RGB to Pantone?

Enter the three values from 0 to 255 and pick the Pantone ink that looks least different. The converter places the RGB colour in CIELAB, measures the CIEDE2000 difference to each of 2,597 inks and lists the nearest first: 228, 0, 43 gives PANTONE 185 C at a difference of 0.

RGB values from design apps, CSS (rgb(228 0 43)), or a percentage form (89% 0% 17%) all work. RGB in CSS and most apps means sRGB; a value from a wide-gamut space such as Display P3 must be converted to sRGB first, or the match will be off.

  1. 1RGBR228G0B43228, 0, 43
  2. 2L*a*b* (D50)L* 48.8 · a* 74.7 · b* 46.9
  3. 3Nearest ink185 C0.01795 C3.01788 C3.9ΔE 2000 · against all 2,597 inks

PANTONE 185 C · ΔE 0.0 · Indistinguishable

RGB 228, 0, 43 → the nearest ink

Why don't RGB colours match Pantone inks one to one?

RGB is light and Pantone is ink. A screen adds red, green and blue light up to white; ink on paper takes light away from the white of the paper. The two reach different colours, so only part of RGB has a close ink: for 33% of colours spread evenly over the RGB range the nearest coated ink is within ΔE 2.

Pantone's own RGB values for its inks are screen stand-ins chosen by Pantone, and Pantone warns that on-screen colours are simulations. The converter's job is to find the ink nearest to your colour and to say how far away it is.

Screen: light adds
Paper: ink subtracts
Light adds up, ink takes away

Which Pantone is closest to pure red, green and blue?

None matches. The nearest coated inks are Bright Red C for red (ΔE 3.2), 7488 C for green (10.5) and 2736 C for blue (9.0). Full-strength RGB primaries are brighter than any ink, so look for a Pantone near the colour you mean, not the slider's maximum.

ColourRGBNearest coatedΔENearest uncoatedΔE
Red255, 0, 0Bright Red C3.22028 U6.4
Green0, 255, 07488 C10.52285 U10.9
Blue0, 0, 2552736 C9.0Blue 072 U11.8
Yellow255, 255, 0395 C4.9395 U5.0
Cyan0, 255, 2553242 C9.33242 U8.7
Magenta255, 0, 255252 C9.8252 U11.1
Black0, 0, 0Black 6 C7.85395 U22.4
White255, 255, 255663 C6.9649 U6.6
Mid grey128, 128, 1284278 C3.0425 U1.7

Pantone to RGB: what are the RGB values of a Pantone colour?

Type a code into the converter's Pantone → field: PANTONE 286 C gives 0, 50, 160, and Reflex Blue C 0, 20, 137. These are Pantone's screen values for the inks, for slides, websites and video.

Codes work as people write them: PMS 286, 286c, pantone reflex blue, cool grey 9. The table lists the RGB values of colours people look up most.

PantoneCoated RGBUncoated RGB
185228, 0, 43241, 80, 96
186200, 16, 46210, 81, 94
Red 032239, 51, 64246, 80, 88
Warm Red249, 66, 58255, 102, 94
Orange 021254, 80, 0255, 108, 47
Yellow254, 221, 0255, 232, 0
3540, 177, 640, 169, 91
Green0, 171, 1310, 172, 140
Process Blue0, 133, 2020, 131, 196
2860, 50, 16049, 85, 164
Reflex Blue0, 20, 13759, 72, 157
Purple187, 41, 187191, 84, 181
Black45, 41, 3898, 93, 90
Cool Gray 9117, 120, 123137, 139, 143

Why does a Pantone colour look different on my screen?

Because screens differ. RGB values are sent to a display as numbers, and each display turns them into light with its own range, brightness and calibration; many phones and laptops have wide-gamut screens that, without colour management, show RGB values more saturated than an sRGB monitor.

To judge a match, use a calibrated screen in sRGB mode, compare side by side rather than one after another, and confirm against a physical Pantone guide under daylight. Guides fade too: Pantone advises replacing them every 12 to 18 months.

sRGB monitor#E4002B
Wide-gamut phone#F9001B
Dim laptop#B80021

RGB 228, 0, 43Approximations: the phone reads the same numbers as Display P3, the laptop gives less light.

One RGB value, three screens

What do C, U, CP, UP, TCX and TPG mean in Pantone codes?

The suffix names what the colour is printed on or made of. C and U are the graphics inks on coated and uncoated paper; CP and UP are Pantone's CMYK simulations of those inks; TCX and TPG are a different system for textiles and coatings.

  • Graphics inks (this tool)CCoated

    The solid ink on glossy coated paper. This converter's default.

  • Graphics inks (this tool)UUncoated

    The same ink on porous uncoated paper: lighter and duller.

  • CMYK simulationCPCoated process

    Pantone's CMYK build that imitates the ink on coated paper (Color Bridge).

  • CMYK simulationUPUncoated process

    The same CMYK simulation on uncoated paper.

  • Textiles and coatingsTCXTextile cotton

    Fashion, Home + Interiors colours dyed on cotton, coded like 11-4201.

  • Textiles and coatingsTPGTextile paper (green)

    The same Fashion, Home + Interiors colours as a lacquer coating on paper, for paints, plastics and other coatings.

RGB, HEX, CMYK or Pantone: which should you give your printer?

Give a printer the Pantone code when a colour must match on every press run, and CMYK for full-colour work printed with process inks. RGB and HEX are for screens: a printer converts them, and the result depends on the press.

One colour carries a different number in each system, and only the Pantone code names a physical ink. The converter shows all four for every match, so a brand sheet can list them together.

  • ScreensRGB228 0 43
  • WebHEX#E4002B
  • Process printCMYK0 100 89 0
  • Spot inkPANTONE185 C
PANTONE 185 C in four notations

How do you find the RGB value of a colour on your screen?

Use an eyedropper: the converter's eyedropper button picks any pixel on the screen in Chrome, Edge and Opera on a computer. macOS has Digital Color Meter, and Windows has the Color Picker in Microsoft PowerToys.

  • This converter

    Select the eyedropper, then click anywhere on the screen (Chrome, Edge, Opera on a computer).

  • macOS

    Applications → Utilities → Digital Color Meter; choose “Display in sRGB”.

  • Windows

    Install Microsoft PowerToys and press Win + Shift + C.

  • Photoshop, Illustrator

    The Eyedropper tool (I), then the Color panel shows its values (in a CMYK file, choose RGB from the panel menu).

RGB to Pantone: questions and answers

How do I convert RGB to Pantone?

Set the red, green and blue values in the converter above, or paste rgb(228, 0, 43). It converts the colour to L*a*b*, measures the CIEDE2000 difference to 2,597 Pantone inks in the coated or uncoated library, and lists the nearest first, with how close each one looks.

Is there an exact Pantone for every RGB colour?

No. Screens show colours that no ink can reach, especially bright blues, greens and magentas. For 33% of colours spread evenly over the RGB range the nearest coated ink is within ΔE 2, a close match; for the rest the converter names the nearest ink and marks how far away it is.

What Pantone is closest to RGB 255, 0, 0?

The nearest coated ink to pure red is Bright Red C, at a ΔE 2000 of 3.2: close but visibly different side by side. Pure RGB red is brighter than any printing ink, so a brand red is better matched from the colour you actually use than from the slider's maximum.

What are the RGB values of Pantone 286 C?

PANTONE 286 C shows on screen as RGB 0, 50, 160, and 286 U as 49, 85, 164. Type any code into the converter's Pantone → field to get its RGB, HEX, CMYK and L*a*b* values. RGB values are screen stand-ins for the printed ink.

Is RGB to PMS the same as RGB to Pantone?

Yes. PMS means Pantone Matching System, the numbered ink system Pantone introduced in 1963. PMS 286 and PANTONE 286 C name the same ink; the C or U says whether it is shown on coated or uncoated paper. Printers and brand guides use both names, and the converter reads either one.

Should I choose coated or uncoated Pantone colours?

Choose by the paper. Coated (C) is for glossy stock such as brochures and packaging, uncoated (U) for letterhead, envelopes and notebooks. The same ink looks lighter on uncoated paper: a code's C and U versions differ by a median ΔE of 5.4, so for RGB to Pantone uncoated matches, switch the library to Uncoated.

Does the RGB need to be sRGB?

Yes. The converter reads RGB as sRGB, the standard for CSS and most apps. A value copied from a Display P3 or Adobe RGB document means a different colour; convert it to sRGB in your design app first, or pick it from the screen with the eyedropper.

Why do other converters give a different Pantone for the same RGB?

They measure difference differently. Plain RGB distance and the older ΔE 76 formula pick a different nearest ink than ΔE 2000 for about half of all colours. Many also use outdated or wrong ink lists. ΔE 2000 is the formula the print trade uses to judge colour matches.

Is the colour I enter stored?

No. Your colour goes to our server only to find the nearest inks, and we don't keep it. A shareable link carries the colour in its address, so only the people you send the link to see it. The converter needs no account and no sign-up of any kind.

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; confirm a printed colour against a printed Pantone guide.

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