neutral

Coated (C)

Pantone Cool Gray 11 C

#53565A · rgb(83, 86, 90)

HEX

#53565A

RGB

rgb(83, 86, 90)

CMYK

cmyk(8%, 4%, 0%, 65%)

HSL

hsl(214, 4%, 34%)

LAB

lab(36.4, -0.3, -2.7)

What is Pantone Cool Gray 11 C?

Pantone Cool Gray 11 C is a Coated (C) PMS reference in the neutral family. Its current screen approximation on PantoneTools is #53565A, rgb(83, 86, 90), and cmyk(8%, 4%, 0%, 65%). 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 Cool Gray 11 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 Cool Gray 11 C

Neutral 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. Neutral colors are useful for surfaces, borders, and typography systems. Confirm small differences between adjacent grays remain visible in low-quality displays and print proofs.

Use Pantone Cool Gray 11 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.

neutral

coated

screen-reference

pantone-approximation

proof-required

Neutral colors are useful for systems, surfaces, and typography but need contrast and adjacent-gray checks across displays and print proofs.

Tints, Shades & Scale

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

Complementary Palette

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

#989A9C

#53565A

#323436

#ACA9A5

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Pantone Cool Gray 11 C as a background.

Black text on this color

Sample text · 2.85 : 1

AA Normal

AA Large

AAA Normal

AAA Large

White text on this color

Sample text · 7.38 : 1

AA Normal

AA Large

AAA Normal

AAA Large

Similar Pantone Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantones to Pantone Cool Gray 11 C (same finish).

Copied #63666A

Pantone Cool Gray 10 C · ΔE 5.81

#63666A

Copied #6A5F55

Pantone Warm Gray 11 C · ΔE 10.35

#6A5F55

Copied #3D3935

Pantone Black 7 C · ΔE 11.07

#3D3935

Copied #75787B

Pantone Cool Gray 9 C · ΔE 12.80

#75787B

Copied #796E65

Pantone Warm Gray 10 C · ΔE 13.28

#796E65

Copied #4A3C31

Pantone 476 C · ΔE 13.78

#4A3C31

Similar RAL Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references to Pantone Cool Gray 11 C. RAL approximations are not interchangeable with Pantone spot colors; use as a cross-reference for industrial coatings and powder coat workflows.

Copied #474B4E

RAL 7031

#474B4E

Blue grey

Copied #474A51

RAL 7024

#474A51

Graphite grey

Copied #4E5452

RAL 7012

#4E5452

Basalt grey

Copied #434B4D

RAL 7011

#434B4D

Iron grey

Copied #434750

RAL 7015

#434750

Slate grey

Copied #4E5754

RAL 7009

#4E5754

Green grey

Developer Exports

CSS Variables

:root {
  --p-cool-gray-11-c: #53565A;
  --p-cool-gray-11-c-rgb: 83 86 90;
  --p-cool-gray-11-c-hsl: 214 4% 34%;
}

Tailwind Scale

// tailwind.config.ts
export default {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        p-cool-gray-11-c: {
          DEFAULT: "#53565A",
          50: "#F1F1F2",
          100: "#E3E4E5",
          200: "#C8C9CA",
          300: "#A9ABAD",
          400: "#7E8083",
          500: "#53565A",
          600: "#47494D",
          700: "#36383B",
          800: "#252729",
          900: "#151617",
          950: "#0A0A0B",
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Design Token JSON

{
  "name": "Pantone Cool Gray 11 C",
  "hex": "#53565A",
  "rgb": {
    "r": 83,
    "g": 86,
    "b": 90
  },
  "cmyk": {
    "c": 8,
    "m": 4,
    "y": 0,
    "k": 65
  },
  "hsl": {
    "h": 214,
    "s": 4,
    "l": 34
  },
  "lab": {
    "l": 36.43,
    "a": -0.3,
    "b": -2.73
  },
  "pantone": {
    "code": "Pantone Cool Gray 11 C",
    "finish": "coated",
    "family": "neutral"
  }
}

Convert Pantone Cool Gray 11 C

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