RAL Classic color

RAL 7038 Agate grey #B5B8B1

RAL 7038 Agate grey is shown here as #B5B8B1, a widely published sRGB approximation of the printed swatch. It is a light gray in the neutral family. In OKLCH it sits at lightness 0.778 with chroma 0.010, too low for hue to matter. The nearest CSS named color is silver (#C0C0C0), ΔE2000 4.9 away.

Relative luminance
0.4728
OKLCH L · C · h
0.778 · 0.010 · 125.7
Best text
Black 10.45:1
Hue family
Neutral
Inspect this color Check contrast

#B5B8B1 color codes

HEX
#B5B8B1
RGB
rgb(181, 184, 177)
HSL
hsl(86, 5%, 71%)
OKLCH
oklch(0.778 0.010 125.7)
OKLab
oklab(0.778 -0.006 0.008)
CIELAB (D65)
L* 74.37, a* -2.34, b* 3.18
XYZ (D65)
X 44.13, Y 47.28, Z 48.39
CMYK (naive)
cmyk(2%, 0%, 4%, 28%)

CIELAB and XYZ use the D65 white point; CSS lab() uses D50, so paste the OKLCH or HEX value into stylesheets. CMYK here is a plain formula with no press profile.

RAL and RAL Classic are trademarks of RAL gGmbH, which this site is not affiliated with. The sRGB value is an approximation of the printed swatch; check a physical RAL color card before you specify a paint.

Legibility

Contrast: is #B5B8B1 accessible?

Black text on it reaches 10.45:1, passing AAA. White text fails at 2.00:1.

WCAG 2 gives the same ratio whichever color is the text; APCA does not, so its Lc changes sign and size with polarity.

Open the Contrast System

  • Black text on it

    10.45:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc +64

  • White text on it

    2.00:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc −43

  • As text on black

    10.45:1

    • AA passes
    • AA large passes
    • AAA passes
    • APCA Lc −63

  • As text on white

    2.00:1

    • AA fails
    • AA large fails
    • AAA fails
    • APCA Lc +38

Nearest versions that pass 4.5:1

  • For text on white

    #747770 4.55:1

    Darkening its OKLCH lightness from 0.78 to 0.56 reaches 4.55:1 on white, keeping the hue.

    Compare both in the Contrast System

  • For text on black

    #B5B8B1 10.45:1

    It already reaches 10.45:1 on black, so no change is needed.

Checking another pair? Use the Contrast Checker.

Studio

Adjust #B5B8B1 live

Move lightness, chroma and hue in OKLCH, or drag on the map. The map is every lightness and chroma at the current hue: sRGB inside the solid area, Display P3 out to the dashed line.

The studio needs JavaScript.

Scale

Shades and tints of #B5B8B1

Eleven OKLCH lightness steps at this hue, each with its contrast against white and black. #B5B8B1 sits at step 300.

  1. 50#F4F6F0
    White
    1.08
    Black
    19.28
  2. 100#EAECE6
    White
    1.19
    Black
    17.63
  3. 200#D6D9D2
    White
    1.42
    Black
    14.71
  4. 300This color#B5B8B1
    White
    2.00
    Black
    10.45
  5. 400#A0A39C
    White
    2.55
    Black
    8.21
  6. 500#848781
    White
    3.64
    Black
    5.76
  7. 600#6D7069
    White
    5.03
    Black
    4.17
  8. 700#575953
    White
    7.09
    Black
    2.95
  9. 800#3E413B
    White
    10.37
    Black
    2.02
  10. 900#282A25
    White
    14.50
    Black
    1.44
  11. 950#151713
    White
    18.04
    Black
    1.16

Under each step, white and black text on it; a bold figure passes 4.5:1.

Gamut

How vivid #B5B8B1 can get

A gray has no hue, so no gamut holds a more vivid version of #B5B8B1: more chroma would make it another color.

0.00.20.40.60.80.20.40.60.8 460480500520540560580600620
  • sRGB
  • Display P3
  • Rec. 2020
  • Dominant wavelength
OKLCH chroma
0.010
sRGB edge
No hue
Display P3 edge
No hue
Rec. 2020 edge
No hue
Dominant wavelength
564 nm
Excitation purity
3%
Chromaticity
x 0.3157, y 0.3382

Mixing

Mixing #B5B8B1

Each row is the same mix worked out in a different space, with the halfway color at its end. sRGB, which older CSS gradients use, can sag gray or dark in the middle; OKLab keeps the lightness steps even; OKLCH holds chroma and hue as it goes.

White #FFFFFF

  • sRGB50%#DADCD8
  • OKLab50%#D9DBD7
  • OKLCH50%#D9DBD7

Black #000000

  • sRGB50%#5B5C59
  • OKLab50%#444542
  • OKLCH50%#444542
In CSS
/* A gradient and a mix, worked out in OKLCH */
background: linear-gradient(in oklch, #b5b8b1, white);
color: color-mix(in oklch, #b5b8b1 50%, white);

In use

#B5B8B1 in an interface

A button, a link, a heading, a focused field, an icon and a chart line in this color, on a light page and a dark one. Each check is a WCAG 2 contrast minimum: 1.4.3 for text, 1.4.11 for the rest.

Light page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:110.45:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:12.00:1 Fails
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:12.00:1 Fails
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:12.00:1 Fails

For text on this page, the nearest shade that passes is #747770 4.55:1

Dark page

  • Button labelText, 4.5:110.45:1 Passes
  • Link and body-size textText, 4.5:19.32:1 Passes
  • Large headingLarge text, 3:19.32:1 Passes
  • Icons, borders and focus ringsNon-text, 3:19.32:1 Passes

Color vision

How #B5B8B1 looks with color blindness

As a neutral it barely changes under any simulation, ΔE2000 4.3 at most.

Simulated with Machado et al. (2009) at full severity, in linear light.

Simulate a whole page What each type sees

  • Protanopia

    No working red (long-wavelength) cones

    #B9B7B1 ΔE2000 2.7

    Close match

    Reads as light gray

  • Deuteranopia

    No working green (medium-wavelength) cones

    #B8B7B1 ΔE2000 2.2

    Close match

    Reads as light gray

  • Tritanopia

    No working blue (short-wavelength) cones

    #B5B7B6 ΔE2000 3.2

    Close match

    Reads as light gray

  • Achromatopsia

    No cone color vision; lightness only

    #B7B7B7 ΔE2000 4.3

    Close match

    Reads as light gray

Pairing check

A near-neutral has no complementary hue to pair with, so tell it apart from neighboring grays by lightness contrast alone.

Harmony

Color harmonies for #B5B8B1

A neutral has no hue to rotate, so every harmony collapses back to the same gray. Pair it with an accent color instead.

Or pair it by lightness: steps of its own scale as text on it, and what each can carry.

Build a lightness scale in Harmony Studio

  • Step 950 #151713 · 8.98:1

    Body text, AAA

  • Step 700 #575953 · 3.53:1

    Large text, icons and borders

  • Step 300 #B5B8B1 · 1.00:1

    Decoration only, under 3:1

Code

Design tokens

Ready-to-paste tokens in six formats. Rename them to fit your system.

CSS custom property

:root {
  --color-ral-7038: #b5b8b1;
}

Tailwind config

// tailwind.config.js
module.exports = {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        'ral-7038': '#b5b8b1',
      },
    },
  },
};

Tailwind v4 theme

/* app.css — Tailwind CSS v4 */
@import "tailwindcss";

@theme {
  --color-ral-7038: oklch(0.778 0.010 125.7);
}

Design token (W3C DTCG)

{
  "color": {
    "ral-7038": {
      "$type": "color",
      "$value": {
        "colorSpace": "srgb",
        "components": [0.7098, 0.7216, 0.6941],
        "hex": "#b5b8b1"
      },
      "$description": "RAL 7038 Agate grey (approximate sRGB)"
    }
  }
}

SwiftUI color

import SwiftUI

enum Palette {
    static let ral7038 = Color(.sRGB, red: 0.710, green: 0.722, blue: 0.694, opacity: 1)
}

Jetpack Compose color

import androidx.compose.ui.graphics.Color

object Palette {
    val Ral7038 = Color(0xFFB5B8B1)
}

Matches

The nearest match in each system

The closest CSS name, Tailwind shade, RAL Classic paint and Crayola crayon by ΔE2000; under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side. RAL and Crayola values approximate physical colors.

Neighbors

The eight nearest colors on this site by ΔE2000, closest first. Under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side.

Tools

Open #B5B8B1 in the tools

Each opens over this page. More colors live in the Color Library, and every color page is listed on the hub.