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Color converter

HEX to CMYK converter

Paste a HEX code, get press-ready CMYK values through a real ICC profile engine, with a side-by-side screen vs press-gamut preview and brand-color presets. Free, no signup, fully client-side.

Quick answer

HEX is RGB in hexadecimal. Accurate CMYK comes from an ICC profile, not a formula.

Formula: #RRGGBB → RGB → ICC profile → CMYK

Quick picks

CMYK press profile

Dominant US offset standard for coated paper. Default for North-American print shops.Source RGB is sRGB v4. Conversion runs in your browser via Little CMS with the real ICC profile. Results follow the selected profile and rendering intent. Upload your print shop's own .icc to soft-proof against it (the file never leaves your browser).

On screen (sRGB)

What you see on this monitor

#FF5733

Press preview · U.S. Web Coated (SWOP) v2

Approx. how the CMYK ink looks once printed

#FF5733

RGB · 0–255

CMYK · 0–100%

Cyan0%
Magenta65.9%
Yellow80%
Key (black)0%
Use #FF5733 in Polotno Studio →

HEX is RGB in disguise

A HEX code like #1DB954 is three RGB values written in hexadecimal: red 1D (29), green B9 (185), blue 54 (84). Converting HEX to CMYK is therefore RGB-to-CMYK conversion with a different input notation, and everything that matters happens in that second step: which profile, which paper, which press.

Why the profile matters

The quick formula you’ll find on most converter sites treats CMYK as a mathematical mirror of RGB. Presses don’t work that way. Ink density, dot gain, paper coating, and total ink limits all change what a given CMYK recipe looks like. ICC profiles encode that behavior. This tool runs a real color engine in your browser with standard press profiles (FOGRA39 coated, GRACoL, SWOP, uncoated variants), and you can upload your printer’s own ICC file for exact numbers.

Common conversions

HEXRGBCMYK (naïve)
#000000 (black)0, 0, 00, 0, 0, 100
#FFFFFF (white)255, 255, 2550, 0, 0, 0
#FF0000 (red)255, 0, 00, 100, 100, 0
#1DB954 (Spotify green)29, 185, 8484, 0, 55, 27
#1877F2 (Facebook blue)24, 119, 24290, 51, 0, 5

Naïve values are shown for reference. Run your brand colors through the ICC converter above before they reach a press.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How do I convert a HEX code to CMYK?

Parse the HEX pairs into RGB (0–255), then convert RGB to CMYK. The naïve formula is K = 1 − max(R,G,B)/255, then C = (1−R/255−K)/(1−K) and likewise for M and Y, but real print conversion should go through an ICC profile (like FOGRA39 or GRACoL), which is what this tool does.

Q: Why does my HEX color look different in CMYK print?

HEX describes light on a screen (RGB); CMYK describes ink on paper, which has a smaller gamut. Bright greens, oranges, and saturated blues can't be reproduced exactly in process printing, the ICC profile maps them to the nearest printable color, which is what the press preview in this tool shows.

Q: What is the CMYK value for a HEX code like #FF5733?

Through the naïve formula, #FF5733 is roughly C0 M66 Y80 K0. Through a coated-press ICC profile (FOGRA39) the values shift to compensate for ink behavior. Enter any HEX in the converter to see both the numbers and a press-gamut preview.

Q: Should I use the naïve formula or an ICC profile?

For anything going to a commercial printer, ICC. The naïve formula ignores paper, ink limits, and gray balance, so its numbers print darker and duller than the screen color. This tool loads a real color engine (lcms) in your browser and defaults to a coated ISO profile.

Related tools

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