Color Converter

Color can be represented mathematically in many different color spaces, each designed for specific use cases. RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is the additive color model used by screens—each channel ranges from 0 to 255, and mixing full values of all three channels produces white. HEX is simply RGB encoded in hexadecimal notation, where each pair of hex digits represents one channel (#RRGGBB).



HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) and HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) represent color in terms more intuitive to humans. Hue is the pure color on the spectrum (0-360°), saturation measures color intensity, and lightness/value measures brightness. Converting between these and RGB requires trigonometric formulas that map the hexagonal RGB color cube onto cylindrical coordinates.



CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key/Black) is the subtractive color model used in printing—colors are created by absorbing light rather than emitting it. Converting from RGB to CMYK requires dividing each channel by 255 and calculating ink coverage, though precise CMYK values also depend on the specific color profile of the printer.

1. Cross-Platform Design Consistency
Web designers work in HEX and RGB, while print designers use CMYK. When creating materials across both media, color converters ensure your brand's digital blue (#0066CC) translates correctly to CMYK values for business cards and brochures. Without conversion, colors can shift dramatically between screen and print.



2. CSS Development Workflow
Design tools like Figma often output colors in HSL, while older codebases use HEX. Converting between formats allows developers to use modern CSS color functions (hsl()) while maintaining compatibility with hex values in legacy stylesheets. HSL is particularly useful for programmatically adjusting brightness and saturation.



3. Color Palette Development
When building color systems, designers often start with HSL because adjusting the lightness value produces predictable tints and shades. Converting a single brand hue into a full tonal scale (100-900 levels) is easier in HSL than in HEX or RGB, then converted to HEX for implementation.



4. Canvas and SVG Programming
HTML5 Canvas and SVG accept color values in different formats depending on the API. Canvas fillStyle accepts most CSS color formats, while some SVG attributes require specific formats. Having instant conversion between formats eliminates manual calculation errors in programmatic color manipulation.



5. Image Processing Scripts
Image processing libraries and scripts often require specific color formats. OpenCV works primarily in BGR (reversed RGB), PIL/Pillow uses RGB tuples, and CSS frameworks prefer HEX. Converting between these formats manually is error-prone; a converter ensures accurate values when working across tools.

• Use HSL for programmatic adjustments: Need to create 5 shades of a color? Work in HSL and vary only the lightness value. Keep hue and saturation constant and adjust L from 20% to 90% for a predictable tonal scale.



• HEX short form saves characters: When all pairs of a HEX value are repeated (#AABBCC), it can be shortened to #ABC. This is valid CSS and reduces bandwidth slightly.



• CSS modern color functions: CSS now natively supports color() and oklch() for wider gamut colors. If you need P3 display colors, look beyond sRGB HEX values.



• CMYK is device-dependent: Unlike RGB which is standardized, CMYK values vary by printer and paper. Professional printing requires an ICC color profile, not just raw CMYK values. Use conversions as approximations, not exact print specifications.



• Preserve your working color: Copy the color value you're working with before converting, especially if you'll need to convert back. Some conversions (particularly to CMYK and back) lose precision due to gamut differences.