Nearest-color comparison

Machinery Gray vs Nickel

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.

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.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Machinery Gray#6C6F70

Nickel#727472

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Machinery Gray and Nickel across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance8.1

Pair contrast1.07:1

Luminance delta0.0155

Hue delta75 deg

Lighter colorNickel

More saturatedMachinery Gray

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

gray color

Machinery Gray

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.

HEX#6C6F70 RGB108, 111, 112 HSL195, 2, 43 CMYK4, 1, 0, 56 Luminance0.1573 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

gray color

Nickel

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.

HEX#727472 RGB114, 116, 114 HSL120, 1, 45 CMYK2, 0, 2, 55 Luminance0.1728 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Machinery Gray or Nickel

Choose Machinery GrayMachinery Gray is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #6C6F70.

Choose NickelNickel is better when the design needs muted gray character, neutral temperature, and the specific HEX value #727472.

Use togetherUse these colors together as related palette neighbors, subtle material differences, or tonal alternatives rather than readable foreground/background pairs.

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyMachinery GrayNickel

HEX#6C6F70#727472

RGB108, 111, 112114, 116, 114

HSL195, 2, 43120, 1, 45

CMYK4, 1, 0, 562, 0, 2, 55

FamilyGrayGray

TemperatureNeutralNeutral

ToneMutedMuted

Luminance0.15730.1728

Black contrast4.15:14.46:1

White contrast5.07:14.71:1

Shared tonesMuted

Accessibility and Contrast

Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.

Machinery Graywhite text - 5.07:1

Nickelwhite text - 4.71:1

Related Palette Strip

A compact visual strip showing the two compared colors with nearby harmony and variant context.

Machinery Gray#6C6F70

Nickel#727472

#9A9D9E#9A9D9E

#A0A2A0#A0A2A0

#706D6B#706D6B

#747274#747274

colorsBoth named color records with HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, luminance, WCAG, and links

differencesRGB distance, HSL deltas, luminance delta, contrast, and shared attributes

accessibilityPair contrast and safer text choices for each color

useCasesWhen to choose each color and when to use them together

relatedApiMachine-readable comparison and color endpoints

Structured sections

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
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "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."
}

Related API

[
  "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"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "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"
}