Ink Blue
Web-standard ink blue, dark as thick ink, nearly black
#000033rgb(0, 0, 51)hsl(240, 100%, 10%)hsv(240, 100%, 20%)cmyk(100%, 100%, 0%, 80%)#000033FFrgba(0, 0, 51, 1)hsla(240, 100%, 10%, 1)oklch(26.4%, 0.183, 264)lch(12.2%, 79.3, 303)🎨 Color Palettes
♿ WCAG Contrast Colors
Learn More →📊 Color Scales
💡 Use Cases
Cinematic Ambiance
Wall color for private theaters, absorbing stray light and creating an immersive viewing experience.
Dark Mode
Dark backgrounds for mobile systems or code editors, providing optimal contrast and eye comfort during late-night use.
Invitations
Gold foil stamping on black-blue card stock for haute couture shows or gala invitations, conveying noble understatement.
Rock Albums
Independent band covers or gig posters, layering ink blue with noise textures to convey somber yet powerful emotions.
📜 Origin & History
Ink Blue draws inspiration from the way liquid ink spreads on Xuan paper. In China, literati produced ink from pine soot or oil soot, with colors ranging from black with purplish to greenish undertones. As the saying goes: 'Ink manifests five colors' — its base hue is ink blue.
In Ukiyo-e, ink blue was known as 'blue ink.' Hokusai, in his Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji, extensively layered Prussian blue with ink to create profound oceans and night skies. This palette later inspired Van Gogh.
In the industrial age, dark inks represented permanence and inalterability in archival records. Typewriter and printer ribbons were also often deep blue-black. This bureaucratic tradition established ink blue as a subconscious symbol of officialdom and sanctity.
In 21st-century digital design, pure black (#000000) is considered too harsh. Ink blue, as an elegant alternative to black, delivers pixel-level depth on OLED screens while maintaining softer visual transitions, making it a favorite for dark mode interfaces.