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Match lab

Find the nearest RAL Classic numbers for a hex value, or the approximate screen values of a RAL shade.

Hex to the nearest RAL

Six hex digits, with or without the #. Example: 3B6E8F.

  1. RAL 5007 Brilliant blueapprox. #41678D · ΔE 4.4, close, a small visible difference
  2. RAL 5015 Sky blueapprox. #2874B2 · ΔE 5.8, clearly different, same family
  3. RAL 5025 Pearl gentian blueapprox. #296478 · ΔE 7.3, clearly different, same family
  4. RAL 5009 Azure blueapprox. #2E5978 · ΔE 7.5, clearly different, same family
  5. RAL 5023 Distant blueapprox. #4D668E · ΔE 7.7, clearly different, same family
  6. RAL 5012 Light blueapprox. #3481B8 · ΔE 8.5, clearly different, same family

RAL number to screen values

Hex
#5A3A29
RGB
90, 58, 41
HSL
21°, 37%, 26%
CMYK (naive)
0, 36, 54, 65

Open the RAL 8011 page for similar shades and notes.

How the matching works

Each RAL Classic shade on this site has one approximate sRGB value. The lab turns your hex value and every shade into CIE Lab coordinates and measures the CIEDE2000 colour difference (ΔE) between them, the same formula colour labs use for small differences. The list shows the six smallest differences.

As a rough guide on screen: under 2 is hard to tell apart side by side, 2 to 5 is a small visible difference, 5 to 10 is clearly different but in the same family, and anything above that is another colour. A small number here does not promise a small difference in paint: the hex value you started from may itself be off, and real coatings change with gloss, texture, lighting and the maker's formula.

Where hex values come from, and why to doubt them

A hex value copied from a website, a logo file or a photo is only as good as its source. Photos in particular shift colour with the camera, the light and the screen. Use the nearest RAL numbers as a shortlist, then put the physical cards from a fan deck next to the real object in daylight. The note on why RAL colours look different on every screen explains the reasons.

The CMYK column

The CMYK figures are a simple mathematical conversion from sRGB, useful as a starting point and nothing more. Printers convert colours through profiles for their own press, inks and paper, so ask your printer for a proof whenever a printed colour matters.