Color Converter (RGB, HEX, HSV, CMYK)

Overview

Converts any colour between HEX, RGB, HSV (also called HSB), and CMYK in a single editable form. Change one field and the other three update instantly, with a live swatch so you can see what you are mixing. It exists because print needs CMYK percentages, video and design tools speak HSV, and the web speaks HEX and RGB - and no single direction converter covers all four.

How It Works

Pick any of the four input cards and start typing: a hex code like #6366f1, RGB components from 0 to 255, HSV as degrees and percentages, or CMYK percentages. Every other field recalculates on each keystroke and the swatch follows. The colour picker beside the HEX field opens your system palette if you would rather point than type. A copy button puts all four formats on your clipboard at once.

Step-by-Step Usage Guide

1. Paste or type your starting value into whichever card matches the format you have - HEX, RGB, HSV, or CMYK.
2. Read the other three cards; each updates live and holds a valid, equivalent colour.
3. Click the swatch picker next to HEX to explore visually, or fine-tune any component numerically.
4. Use Copy all formats to take the whole set into your design tool, stylesheet, or print brief.

Technical Specifications & Standards

HSV stores a colour as hue (0-360 degrees around the colour wheel), saturation, and value (brightness), which is why it feels natural for 'make it darker' adjustments that RGB makes awkward. CMYK here is the standard naive conversion: k (black) is one minus the largest RGB channel, and cyan, magenta, and yellow are what remains after removing k. That formula is mathematically exact but not device-accurate - a monitor's RGB gamut is larger than most CMYK print gamuts, so saturated colours like #0000ff shift when printed. Professional work needs an ICC profile with your paper and press conditions; this tool gives you the numbers a designer expects to receive, which is what Photoshop shows by default when no profile is assigned. HSV and RGB conversions are lossless and exact in both directions; CMYK round-trips exactly at full precision, with display rounded to one decimal.

Targeted Use Cases

• A designer hands you a brand HEX value and the print shop asks for CMYK percentages - convert it in one paste.
• You are writing canvas or SVG code that needs HSV hue rotations, but your design tokens are stored as HEX.
• Matching a physical colour sample: enter its CMYK build and see what it becomes on screen in RGB and HEX.
• Teaching colour models, with all four representations of one colour visible and changing together.

Notes & Gotchas

• Treat CMYK output as a starting point for proofing, not a guarantee - convert with your printer's ICC profile before a real print run.
• Deep saturated blues and oranges lose the most in the naive RGB-to-CMYK conversion; check them on a proof early.
• Use HSV when you need to vary brightness or saturation programmatically; it separates those axes from hue.
• Keep HEX in web work and convert only at the boundary - rounding between models accumulates small drift.

Frequently Asked Questions