Nearest-color comparison
Carbon Fiber #1C1C1C vs Matte Black #1A1A1A: RGB distance 3.5 and contrast 1.02:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Carbon Fiber and Matte Black are very close, with an RGB distance of 3.5. Carbon Fiber is lighter by 0.0013, and their saturation is equal. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Carbon Fiber and Matte Black across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
gray color
Carbon Fiber is #1C1C1C, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.0116. Beside Matte Black, it is lighter and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 17.05:1.
gray color
Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray with hue 0°, saturation 0% and luminance 0.0103. Beside Carbon Fiber, it is darker and equally saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 17.41:1.
Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.
Downloadable color comparison infographic
Save a high-resolution comparison infographic with both HEX colors, visual distance, mutual contrast, and accessibility guidance.
A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.
Machine-readable data
Structured comparison data for Carbon Fiber and Matte Black, including color systems, RGB distance, HSL deltas, contrast, accessibility guidance, use cases, and API links.
Colors Encyclopedia
colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and linksdifferencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributesaccessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each coloruseCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them togetherrelatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints[
{
"slug": "carbon-fiber",
"name": "Carbon Fiber",
"hex": "#1C1C1C",
"rgb": [
28,
28,
28
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
11
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
89
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0116,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.23,
"white": 17.05
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.05
},
"description": "Carbon Fiber is #1C1C1C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Matte Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-fiber/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-fiber.json"
},
{
"slug": "matte-black",
"name": "Matte Black",
"hex": "#1A1A1A",
"rgb": [
26,
26,
26
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
10
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
90
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0103,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.21,
"white": 17.41
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.41
},
"description": "Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Carbon Fiber, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/matte-black/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 3.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0013,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"dark"
],
"lighterColor": "Carbon Fiber",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Carbon Fiber"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Carbon Fiber",
"background": "#1C1C1C",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.05
},
{
"color": "Matte Black",
"background": "#1A1A1A",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.41
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Carbon Fiber is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1C1C1C.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Matte Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1A1A1A.",
"useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
}[
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/carbon-fiber-vs-matte-black.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-fiber.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "carbon-fiber-vs-matte-black",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Carbon Fiber vs Matte Black",
"verdict": "Carbon Fiber and Matte Black are very close colors. Carbon Fiber is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.02:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Carbon Fiber and Matte Black are different gray colors with HEX values #1C1C1C and #1A1A1A. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 3.5, their contrast ratio is 1.02:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 3.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "carbon-fiber",
"name": "Carbon Fiber",
"hex": "#1C1C1C",
"rgb": [
28,
28,
28
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
11
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
89
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0116,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.23,
"white": 17.05
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.05
},
"description": "Carbon Fiber is #1C1C1C, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Matte Black, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/carbon-fiber/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-fiber.json"
},
{
"slug": "matte-black",
"name": "Matte Black",
"hex": "#1A1A1A",
"rgb": [
26,
26,
26
],
"hsl": [
0,
0,
10
],
"cmyk": [
0,
0,
0,
90
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0103,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.21,
"white": 17.41
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.41
},
"description": "Matte Black is #1A1A1A, a neutral gray color with dark character. Compared with Carbon Fiber, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/matte-black/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 3.5,
"contrastRatio": 1.02,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 0,
"saturation": 0,
"lightness": 1
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0013,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"dark"
],
"lighterColor": "Carbon Fiber",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Carbon Fiber"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.02,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Carbon Fiber",
"background": "#1C1C1C",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.05
},
{
"color": "Matte Black",
"background": "#1A1A1A",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 17.41
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Carbon Fiber is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1C1C1C.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Matte Black is better when the design needs dark gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #1A1A1A.",
"useTogetherWhen": "Use these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs."
},
"relatedApi": [
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/carbon-fiber-vs-matte-black.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/carbon-fiber.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/matte-black.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/carbon-fiber-vs-matte-black/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/carbon-fiber-vs-matte-black.json"
}