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brown
Coated (C)

Pantone 168 C

#76381E · rgb(118, 56, 30)

HEX

#76381E

RGB

rgb(118, 56, 30)

CMYK

cmyk(0%, 53%, 75%, 54%)

HSL

hsl(18, 59%, 29%)

LAB

lab(31.3, 25.1, 28.3)

What is Pantone 168 C?

Pantone 168 C is a Coated (C) PMS reference in the brown family. Its current screen approximation on PantoneTools is #76381E, rgb(118, 56, 30), and cmyk(0%, 53%, 75%, 54%). Use it when you need a quick Pantone to HEX, Pantone to RGB, or Pantone to CMYK lookup for brand exploration, UI palettes, and print handoff conversations. For accessibility, this page tests Pantone 168 C as a background and currently recommends white text as the safer default before final contrast review. The tints, shades, complementary palette, and developer exports are generated from the same sRGB value so teams can keep web tokens and design notes aligned. These digital values are approximations rather than licensed Pantone specifications; confirm production-critical color with a current physical guide, D50 lighting, and a printer proof.

Workflow context for Pantone 168 C

Brown coated production notes

Because this is a coated-paper reference, use it for glossy stock, laminated labels, premium cartons, and spot-color conversations where ink sits on a less absorbent surface. Do not assume the same visual result on kraft, recycled, or uncoated paper without a separate proof. Brown and earth tones depend heavily on substrate color. Kraft, recycled board, and uncoated stocks can make the same value feel warmer, duller, or lower contrast.

  • Use Pantone 168 C as a digital reference first, then confirm production work against a physical guide or approved proof.
  • Record the approved coated value separately from CMYK, HEX, RGB, and design-token fallbacks.
  • For UI or web use, pair this color with white text only after checking the actual contrast ratio in context.
  • When sending to a vendor, include the expected substrate, lighting condition, and approval owner instead of only sending a HEX value.

Use this color with

Brand consistency systemsDocument Pantone, CMYK, HEX, RGB, and tolerance rules together.Accessibility workflowReview whether white text is acceptable for real UI use.Coated vs uncoatedUnderstand why the same PMS number changes across paper finish.

Data provenance

Curated community sRGB approximations

Hand-curated approximate sRGB visual equivalents for screen preview and matching workflows. This is not an official Pantone licensed value source. Use for educational lookup, digital previews, nearest-color matching, accessibility checks, and workflow planning. Confirm production color against physical guides, licensed values, or printer proofs.

Source type
community-reference
Confidence
low
Last reviewed
2026-05-23

Scale metadata

These fields are used by the scale audit before any larger color-directory expansion. They are intentionally conservative because current values are approximate screen references.

brown
coated
screen-reference
pantone-approximation
proof-required

Browns depend heavily on substrate warmth and ink density; review them on the final paper or packaging material.

Tints, Shades & Scale

A balanced 11-step scale derived from Pantone 168 C for design system use.

Complementary Palette

Quick palette of tint, base, shade, and complement for layout exploration.

#AD8878

#76381E

#472212

#89C7E1

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Pantone 168 C as a background.

Black text on this color

Sample text · 2.35 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

White text on this color

Sample text · 8.92 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

Similar Pantone Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantones to Pantone 168 C (same finish).

Copied #6F3322

Pantone 175 C · ΔE 3.52

#6F3322

C
Copied #673618

Pantone 731 C · ΔE 4.26

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C
Copied #693F23

Pantone 469 C · ΔE 5.55

#693F23

C
Copied #5D3017

Pantone 478 C · ΔE 5.89

#5D3017

C
Copied #80461B

Pantone 730 C · ΔE 6.67

#80461B

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Copied #963821

Pantone 174 C · ΔE 7.24

#963821

C

Similar RAL Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references to Pantone 168 C. RAL approximations are not interchangeable with Pantone spot colors; use as a cross-reference for industrial coatings and powder coat workflows.

Copied #6C3B2A

RAL 8002

#6C3B2A

Signal brown

Copied #734222

RAL 8003

#734222

Clay brown

Copied #8E402A

RAL 8004

#8E402A

Copper brown

Copied #59351F

RAL 8007

#59351F

Fawn brown

Copied #5B3A29

RAL 8011

#5B3A29

Nut brown

Copied #781F19

RAL 3011

#781F19

Brown red

Developer Exports

CSS Variables

:root {
  --p-168-c: #76381E;
  --p-168-c-rgb: 118 56 30;
  --p-168-c-hsl: 18 59% 29%;
}

Tailwind Scale

// tailwind.config.ts
export default {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        p-168-c: {
          DEFAULT: "#76381E",
          50: "#F4EFED",
          100: "#E9DFDB",
          200: "#D3BFB7",
          300: "#BB9C8F",
          400: "#986A56",
          500: "#76381E",
          600: "#64301A",
          700: "#4D2414",
          800: "#35190E",
          900: "#1E0E08",
          950: "#0E0704",
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Design Token JSON

{
  "name": "Pantone 168 C",
  "hex": "#76381E",
  "rgb": {
    "r": 118,
    "g": 56,
    "b": 30
  },
  "cmyk": {
    "c": 0,
    "m": 53,
    "y": 75,
    "k": 54
  },
  "hsl": {
    "h": 18,
    "s": 59,
    "l": 29
  },
  "lab": {
    "l": 31.29,
    "a": 25.08,
    "b": 28.28
  },
  "pantone": {
    "code": "Pantone 168 C",
    "finish": "coated",
    "family": "brown"
  }
}

Convert Pantone 168 C

Pantone → HEXPantone → RGBPantone → CMYKPantone → LABPantone → RALBrowse all colors
Pantone 168 C Color Values | PantoneTools