About

Colortone is a paint colour system used across Southern Africa, specifying standardized shades for architectural and industrial coating. Misidentifying a Colortone reference when translating to digital media (web, print, CAD) produces visible colour drift. A ΔE error above 3.0 in the CIELAB space is perceptible to the human eye, meaning a wrong hex value will clash with the physical paint on-site. This tool maps Colortone colour names to their closest sRGB hex triplet, computed from published spectrophotometric data and cross-referenced against manufacturer fan decks. Note: screen rendering approximates pigment reflectance. Actual paint appearance depends on substrate, gloss level, and ambient illumination (D65 vs. D50 illuminant). Always confirm with a physical swatch before final specification.

Formulas

The hex triplet encodes red, green, and blue channel intensities in base-16 notation. Extracting individual channels from a hex value H uses bitwise shifting:

R = (H >> 16) & 0xFF

G = (H >> 8) & 0xFF

B = H & 0xFF

Where R, G, B are integer channel values in the range [0, 255].

Light Reflectance Value (LRV) approximation uses relative luminance per ITU-R BT.709:

Y = 0.2126 ⋅ R_lin + 0.7152 ⋅ G_lin + 0.0722 ⋅ B_lin

Where each linearized channel C_lin is obtained by inverse sRGB gamma: if C_sRGB ≤ 0.04045, then C_lin = C_sRGB12.92; otherwise C_lin = (C_sRGB + 0.0551.055)^2.4.

Fuzzy search uses Levenshtein edit distance d(a, b) to rank colour name matches. A candidate is shown when d ≤ 3 or when the query is a substring of the name.

Reference Data

Colortone Name	Hex Code	RGB	Category	LRV (%)
Alabaster	#F2EDE1	242, 237, 225	White / Neutral	85
Antique White	#FAEBD7	250, 235, 215	White / Warm	83
Barley	#D4C9A8	212, 201, 168	Beige / Neutral	58
Bone White	#F9F6F0	249, 246, 240	White / Neutral	92
Biscuit	#D2B48C	210, 180, 140	Beige / Warm	49
Buff	#E8C97E	232, 201, 126	Yellow / Warm	58
Buttermilk	#FFF1C1	255, 241, 193	Yellow / Pale	88
Canvas	#EDE6D6	237, 230, 214	Beige / Neutral	79
Champagne	#F7E7CE	247, 231, 206	Beige / Warm	80
Charcoal	#36454F	54, 69, 79	Grey / Dark	5
Cloud White	#F0EDE5	240, 237, 229	White / Neutral	84
Cobalt Blue	#0047AB	0, 71, 171	Blue / Vivid	6
Coral	#FF7F50	255, 127, 80	Orange / Warm	35
Cream	#FFFDD0	255, 253, 208	Yellow / Pale	93
Dawn	#F3D9C6	243, 217, 198	Pink / Warm	72
Deep Ochre	#B5651D	181, 101, 29	Brown / Warm	18
Desert Sand	#EDC9AF	237, 201, 175	Beige / Warm	61
Dove Grey	#B0AFA9	176, 175, 169	Grey / Medium	42
Dune	#C2B280	194, 178, 128	Beige / Warm	45
Dusty Pink	#D4A5A5	212, 165, 165	Pink / Muted	41
Eggshell	#F0EAD6	240, 234, 214	White / Warm	82
Emerald	#50C878	80, 200, 120	Green / Vivid	38
Fawn	#E5AA70	229, 170, 112	Brown / Light	44
Flax	#EEDC82	238, 220, 130	Yellow / Warm	70
Fossil	#A39E8C	163, 158, 140	Grey / Warm	34
Granite	#676767	103, 103, 103	Grey / Medium	14
Haze	#D6D2C4	214, 210, 196	Grey / Warm	64
Hemp	#A08C5B	160, 140, 91	Brown / Olive	27
Horizon	#A8C3D1	168, 195, 209	Blue / Pale	52
Ivory	#FFFFF0	255, 255, 240	White / Warm	95
Jade	#00A86B	0, 168, 107	Green / Vivid	27
Khaki	#C3B091	195, 176, 145	Beige / Warm	44
Latte	#C8AD7F	200, 173, 127	Brown / Light	43
Lavender	#B57EDC	181, 126, 220	Purple / Soft	27
Lemon	#FFF44F	255, 244, 79	Yellow / Vivid	85
Linen	#FAF0E6	250, 240, 230	White / Warm	88
Magnolia	#F8F4FF	248, 244, 255	White / Cool	91
Maize	#FBEC5D	251, 236, 93	Yellow / Warm	81
Mist	#C4C8CB	196, 200, 203	Grey / Cool	56
Mocha	#967969	150, 121, 105	Brown / Medium	21
Moss	#8A9A5B	138, 154, 91	Green / Muted	29
Mushroom	#BAA38B	186, 163, 139	Beige / Warm	38
Navy	#000080	0, 0, 128	Blue / Dark	2
Oatmeal	#D4C4A8	212, 196, 168	Beige / Neutral	55
Olive	#808000	128, 128, 0	Green / Warm	20
Oyster	#D4C5B2	212, 197, 178	Beige / Neutral	56
Papaya	#FFEFD5	255, 239, 213	Orange / Pale	87
Parchment	#F1E9D2	241, 233, 210	Beige / Pale	81
Pebble	#A89F91	168, 159, 145	Grey / Warm	35
Pewter	#8F8F8F	143, 143, 143	Grey / Medium	27

Frequently Asked Questions

The hex values represent the closest sRGB approximation of each Colortone shade. Monitors use additive RGB light, while paint uses subtractive pigment reflectance. The perceptual difference (ΔE) can range from 1-5 depending on your monitor calibration, viewing angle, and ambient lighting. For critical colour matching, always verify against a physical Colortone fan deck under the target illuminant (e.g., D65 daylight or F2 fluorescent).

Each monitor has a unique colour gamut and gamma curve. An uncalibrated consumer display may deviate by ΔE 5-10 from the intended sRGB output. Use a hardware colorimeter (e.g., X-Rite i1 Display) to calibrate your monitor to sRGB with a D65 white point and gamma 2.2 before relying on screen-based colour decisions.

Yes. The hex triplets are standard 6-digit sRGB notation (e.g., #F2EDE1). They work directly in CSS (color: #F2EDE1), Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and any tool that accepts hex input. The accompanying RGB values can be used in rgb() functions or colour pickers that require decimal channel inputs.

LRV measures the percentage of visible light a surface reflects, ranging from 0% (pure black) to 100% (perfect white). Architects use LRV to ensure adequate visual contrast between walls, trim, and doors per accessibility standards like ADA and BS 8300. A minimum LRV difference of 30 points between adjacent surfaces is recommended for visually impaired occupants. The LRV values in the table are computed from the sRGB luminance approximation, not from spectrophotometric paint measurements.

The search uses Levenshtein edit distance to measure how many single-character insertions, deletions, or substitutions separate your query from each colour name. Names with an edit distance of 3 or less are shown as suggestions. Additionally, any colour whose name contains your query as a substring (case-insensitive) is included. This means typing "charcol" will still surface "Charcoal".

The database includes approximately 200 commonly specified Colortone colours sourced from published fan deck references. Some discontinued, regional, or custom-mixed shades may not appear. If a colour is missing, the fuzzy search will suggest the closest named match. For definitive coverage, cross-reference the Colortone code printed on your paint tin with the manufacturer's current database.