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neutral
Coated (C)

Pantone Cool Gray 5 C

#B1B3B3 · rgb(177, 179, 179)

HEX

#B1B3B3

RGB

rgb(177, 179, 179)

CMYK

cmyk(1%, 0%, 0%, 30%)

HSL

hsl(180, 1%, 70%)

LAB

lab(72.8, -0.7, -0.3)

What is Pantone Cool Gray 5 C?

Pantone Cool Gray 5 C is a Coated (C) PMS reference in the neutral family. Its current screen approximation on PantoneTools is #B1B3B3, rgb(177, 179, 179), and cmyk(1%, 0%, 0%, 30%). 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 5 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 Cool Gray 5 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 5 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.

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 5 C for design system use.

Complementary Palette

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

#D0D1D1

#B1B3B3

#6A6B6B

#4E4C4C

Accessibility

WCAG 2.1 contrast checks for Pantone Cool Gray 5 C as a background.

Black text on this color

Sample text · 9.97 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

White text on this color

Sample text · 2.11 : 1
AA Normal
AA Large
AAA Normal
AAA Large

Similar Pantone Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest Pantones to Pantone Cool Gray 5 C (same finish).

Copied #BBBCBC

Pantone Cool Gray 4 C · ΔE 2.54

#BBBCBC

C
Copied #A7A8AA

Pantone Cool Gray 6 C · ΔE 3.33

#A7A8AA

C
Copied #BFB8AF

Pantone Warm Gray 3 C · ΔE 5.81

#BFB8AF

C
Copied #C8C9C7

Pantone Cool Gray 3 C · ΔE 5.87

#C8C9C7

C
Copied #B6ADA5

Pantone Warm Gray 4 C · ΔE 6.11

#B6ADA5

C
Copied #A8A29A

Pantone Warm Gray 5 C · ΔE 6.85

#A8A29A

C

Similar RAL Colors

Top 6 ΔE2000-closest RAL Classic references to Pantone Cool Gray 5 C. RAL approximations are not interchangeable with Pantone spot colors; use as a cross-reference for industrial coatings and powder coat workflows.

Copied #B5B8B1

RAL 7038

#B5B8B1

Agate grey

Copied #A5A5A5

RAL 9006

#A5A5A5

White aluminium

Copied #9EA0A1

RAL 7004

#9EA0A1

Signal grey

Copied #9DA1AA

RAL 7040

#9DA1AA

Window grey

Copied #8F999F

RAL 7001

#8F999F

Silver grey

Copied #D7D7D7

RAL 7035

#D7D7D7

Light grey

Developer Exports

CSS Variables

:root {
  --p-cool-gray-5-c: #B1B3B3;
  --p-cool-gray-5-c-rgb: 177 179 179;
  --p-cool-gray-5-c-hsl: 180 1% 70%;
}

Tailwind Scale

// tailwind.config.ts
export default {
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        p-cool-gray-5-c: {
          DEFAULT: "#B1B3B3",
          50: "#F9F9F9",
          100: "#F3F3F3",
          200: "#E6E7E7",
          300: "#D8D9D9",
          400: "#C5C6C6",
          500: "#B1B3B3",
          600: "#969898",
          700: "#737474",
          800: "#505151",
          900: "#2C2D2D",
          950: "#151515",
        },
      },
    },
  },
};

Design Token JSON

{
  "name": "Pantone Cool Gray 5 C",
  "hex": "#B1B3B3",
  "rgb": {
    "r": 177,
    "g": 179,
    "b": 179
  },
  "cmyk": {
    "c": 1,
    "m": 0,
    "y": 0,
    "k": 30
  },
  "hsl": {
    "h": 180,
    "s": 1,
    "l": 70
  },
  "lab": {
    "l": 72.79,
    "a": -0.7,
    "b": -0.25
  },
  "pantone": {
    "code": "Pantone Cool Gray 5 C",
    "finish": "coated",
    "family": "neutral"
  }
}

Convert Pantone Cool Gray 5 C

Pantone → HEXPantone → RGBPantone → CMYKPantone → LABPantone → RALBrowse all colors
Pantone Cool Gray 5 C Color Values | PantoneTools