Nearest-color comparison
Machinery Gray #6C6F70 vs Nickel #727472: RGB distance 8.1 and contrast 1.07:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Machinery Gray and Nickel are very close, with an RGB distance of 8.1. Nickel is lighter by 0.0155, and Machinery Gray is more saturated by 1 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Machinery Gray and Nickel across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
gray color
Machinery Gray is #6C6F70, a neutral gray with hue 195°, saturation 2% and luminance 0.1573. Beside Nickel, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 5.07:1.
gray color
Nickel is #727472, a neutral gray with hue 120°, saturation 1% and luminance 0.1728. Beside Machinery Gray, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 4.71:1.
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 Machinery Gray and Nickel, 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": "machinery-gray",
"name": "Machinery Gray",
"hex": "#6C6F70",
"rgb": [
108,
111,
112
],
"hsl": [
195,
2,
43
],
"cmyk": [
4,
1,
0,
56
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.1573,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.15,
"white": 5.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
"description": "Machinery Gray is #6C6F70, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Nickel, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/machinery-gray/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/machinery-gray.json"
},
{
"slug": "nickel",
"name": "Nickel",
"hex": "#727472",
"rgb": [
114,
116,
114
],
"hsl": [
120,
1,
45
],
"cmyk": [
2,
0,
2,
55
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.1728,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.46,
"white": 4.71
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.71
},
"description": "Nickel is #727472, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Machinery Gray, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/nickel/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/nickel.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 8.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 75,
"saturation": 1,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0155,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"muted"
],
"lighterColor": "Nickel",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Machinery Gray"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Machinery Gray",
"background": "#6C6F70",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
{
"color": "Nickel",
"background": "#727472",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.71
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Machinery Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #6C6F70.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Nickel is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #727472.",
"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/machinery-gray-vs-nickel.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/machinery-gray.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/nickel.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "machinery-gray-vs-nickel",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Machinery Gray vs Nickel",
"verdict": "Machinery Gray and Nickel are very close colors. Nickel is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.07:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Machinery Gray and Nickel are different gray colors with HEX values #6C6F70 and #727472. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 8.1, their contrast ratio is 1.07:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 8.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "machinery-gray",
"name": "Machinery Gray",
"hex": "#6C6F70",
"rgb": [
108,
111,
112
],
"hsl": [
195,
2,
43
],
"cmyk": [
4,
1,
0,
56
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.1573,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.15,
"white": 5.07
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
"description": "Machinery Gray is #6C6F70, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Nickel, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for industrial design, safety systems, and hardware palettes, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/machinery-gray/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/machinery-gray.json"
},
{
"slug": "nickel",
"name": "Nickel",
"hex": "#727472",
"rgb": [
114,
116,
114
],
"hsl": [
120,
1,
45
],
"cmyk": [
2,
0,
2,
55
],
"family": "gray",
"temperature": "neutral",
"tone": [
"muted"
],
"luminance": 0.1728,
"contrast": {
"black": 4.46,
"white": 4.71
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF"
],
"AAA": []
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.71
},
"description": "Nickel is #727472, a neutral gray color with muted character. Compared with Machinery Gray, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for metallic palettes, product finishes, and premium packaging, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/nickel/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/nickel.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 8.1,
"contrastRatio": 1.07,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 75,
"saturation": 1,
"lightness": 2
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0155,
"sameFamily": true,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"muted"
],
"lighterColor": "Nickel",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Machinery Gray"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.07,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Machinery Gray",
"background": "#6C6F70",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 5.07
},
{
"color": "Nickel",
"background": "#727472",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 4.71
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Machinery Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #6C6F70.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Nickel is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #727472.",
"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/machinery-gray-vs-nickel.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/machinery-gray.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/nickel.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/machinery-gray-vs-nickel/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/machinery-gray-vs-nickel.json"
}