purple

Coated (C)

Pantone 253 C

#AC4FC6 · rgb(172, 79, 198)

HEX

#AC4FC6

RGB

rgb(172, 79, 198)

CMYK

cmyk(13%, 60%, 0%, 22%)

HSL

hsl(287, 51%, 54%)

LAB

lab(50.0, 55.8, -45.8)

What is Pantone 253 C?

Pantone 253 C is a Coated (C) PMS reference in the purple family. Its current screen approximation on PantoneTools is #AC4FC6, rgb(172, 79, 198), and cmyk(13%, 60%, 0%, 22%). 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 253 C as a background and currently recommends black 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 253 C

Purple 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. Purple is sensitive to blue-red balance, monitor gamut, and print profile. Use ΔE review and physical proofs before treating a screen match as production-ready.

Use Pantone 253 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 black 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 black 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.

purple

coated

screen-reference

pantone-approximation

proof-required

Purples and violets are sensitive to RGB-to-CMYK conversion and should be proofed before replacing spot colors with process builds.

Tints, Shades & Scale

A balanced 11-step scale derived from Pantone 253 C for design system use.

Complementary Palette

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

#CD95DD

#AC4FC6

#672F77

#53B039

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Pantone 253 C as a background.

Black text on this color

Sample text · 4.69 : 1

AA Normal

AA Large

AAA Normal

AAA Large

White text on this color

Sample text · 4.48 : 1

AA Normal

AA Large

AAA Normal

AAA Large

Similar Pantone Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantones to Pantone 253 C (same finish).

Copied #A05EB5

Pantone 528 C · ΔE 4.63

#A05EB5

Copied #BB29BB

Pantone Purple C · ΔE 6.04

#BB29BB

Copied #9A66BF

Pantone 814 C · ΔE 6.23

#9A66BF

Copied #C964CF

Pantone 252 C · ΔE 8.30

#C964CF

Copied #9B26B6

Pantone 254 C · ΔE 9.15

#9B26B6

Copied #8246AF

Pantone 2587 C · ΔE 9.18

#8246AF

Similar RAL Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references to Pantone 253 C. RAL approximations are not interchangeable with Pantone spot colors; use as a cross-reference for industrial coatings and powder coat workflows.

Copied #924E7D

RAL 4008

#924E7D

Signal violet

Copied #7E8B92

RAL 7000

#7E8B92

Squirrel grey

Copied #A03472

RAL 4006

#A03472

Traffic purple

Copied #6C4675

RAL 4005

#6C4675

Blue lilac

Copied #DE4C8A

RAL 4003

#DE4C8A

Heather violet

Copied #8F999F

RAL 7001

#8F999F

Silver grey

Developer Exports

CSS Variables

:root {
  --p-253-c: #AC4FC6;
  --p-253-c-rgb: 172 79 198;
  --p-253-c-hsl: 287 51% 54%;
}

Tailwind Scale

// tailwind.config.ts
export default {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        p-253-c: {
          DEFAULT: "#AC4FC6",
          50: "#F8F1FA",
          100: "#F2E3F6",
          200: "#E4C7ED",
          300: "#D6A7E3",
          400: "#C17BD4",
          500: "#AC4FC6",
          600: "#9243A8",
          700: "#703381",
          800: "#4D2459",
          900: "#2B1432",
          950: "#150918",
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Design Token JSON

{
  "name": "Pantone 253 C",
  "hex": "#AC4FC6",
  "rgb": {
    "r": 172,
    "g": 79,
    "b": 198
  },
  "cmyk": {
    "c": 13,
    "m": 60,
    "y": 0,
    "k": 22
  },
  "hsl": {
    "h": 287,
    "s": 51,
    "l": 54
  },
  "lab": {
    "l": 50.03,
    "a": 55.84,
    "b": -45.82
  },
  "pantone": {
    "code": "Pantone 253 C",
    "finish": "coated",
    "family": "purple"
  }
}

Convert Pantone 253 C

Pantone → HEX Pantone → RGB Pantone → CMYK Pantone → LAB Pantone → RAL Browse all colors