Nearest-color comparison
Merlot #541E2E vs Pine Bark #4A3728: RGB distance 27.6 and contrast 1.17:1. Compare hue, luminance, saturation, WCAG and practical use.
Merlot and Pine Bark are related but distinguishable, with an RGB distance of 27.6. Pine Bark is lighter by 0.0133, and Merlot is more saturated by 17 percentage points. Their mutual contrast is 1.17:1. The pair is too close for a readable foreground/background combination and works better as neighboring palette colors.
The main measurable differences between Merlot and Pine Bark across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.
pink color
Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink with hue 342°, saturation 47% and luminance 0.0301. Beside Pine Bark, it is darker and more saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 13.11:1.
orange color
Pine Bark is #4A3728, a warm orange with hue 26°, saturation 30% and luminance 0.0434. Beside Merlot, it is lighter and less saturated. Of the two standard text choices, white text gives the higher contrast at 11.24:1.
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 Merlot and Pine Bark, 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": "merlot",
"name": "Merlot",
"hex": "#541E2E",
"rgb": [
84,
30,
46
],
"hsl": [
342,
47,
22
],
"cmyk": [
0,
64,
45,
67
],
"family": "pink",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0301,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.6,
"white": 13.11
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 13.11
},
"description": "Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink color with dark character. Compared with Pine Bark, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/merlot/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json"
},
{
"slug": "pine-bark",
"name": "Pine Bark",
"hex": "#4A3728",
"rgb": [
74,
55,
40
],
"hsl": [
26,
30,
22
],
"cmyk": [
0,
26,
46,
71
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"dark",
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0434,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.87,
"white": 11.24
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.24
},
"description": "Pine Bark is #4A3728, a warm orange color with dark and earth tone character. Compared with Merlot, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pine-bark/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pine-bark.json"
}
]{
"rgbDistance": 27.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 316,
"saturation": 17,
"lightness": 0
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0133,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"dark"
],
"lighterColor": "Pine Bark",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Merlot"
}{
"pairContrastRatio": 1.17,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Merlot",
"background": "#541E2E",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 13.11
},
{
"color": "Pine Bark",
"background": "#4A3728",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.24
}
]
}{
"chooseFirstWhen": "Merlot is better when the design needs dark pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #541E2E.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Pine Bark is better when the design needs dark and earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #4A3728.",
"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/merlot-vs-pine-bark.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pine-bark.json"
]{
"datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
"slug": "merlot-vs-pine-bark",
"type": "nearest",
"name": "Merlot vs Pine Bark",
"verdict": "Merlot and Pine Bark are visually related colors. Pine Bark is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.17:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
"summary": "Merlot and Pine Bark are different pink and orange colors with HEX values #541E2E and #4A3728. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 27.6, their contrast ratio is 1.17:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
"rgbDistance": 27.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"colors": [
{
"slug": "merlot",
"name": "Merlot",
"hex": "#541E2E",
"rgb": [
84,
30,
46
],
"hsl": [
342,
47,
22
],
"cmyk": [
0,
64,
45,
67
],
"family": "pink",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"dark"
],
"luminance": 0.0301,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.6,
"white": 13.11
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 13.11
},
"description": "Merlot is #541E2E, a warm pink color with dark character. Compared with Pine Bark, it is darker and more saturated. Use it for branding accents, editorial palettes, and product design, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/merlot/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json"
},
{
"slug": "pine-bark",
"name": "Pine Bark",
"hex": "#4A3728",
"rgb": [
74,
55,
40
],
"hsl": [
26,
30,
22
],
"cmyk": [
0,
26,
46,
71
],
"family": "orange",
"temperature": "warm",
"tone": [
"dark",
"earth-tone"
],
"luminance": 0.0434,
"contrast": {
"black": 1.87,
"white": 11.24
},
"wcag": {
"AA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
],
"AAA": [
"#FFFFFF",
"#F5F5F5"
]
},
"bestText": {
"text": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.24
},
"description": "Pine Bark is #4A3728, a warm orange color with dark and earth tone character. Compared with Merlot, it is lighter and less saturated. Use it for earth-tone palettes, interior design, and material-inspired branding, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/pine-bark/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pine-bark.json"
}
],
"differences": {
"rgbDistance": 27.6,
"contrastRatio": 1.17,
"hslDelta": {
"hue": 316,
"saturation": 17,
"lightness": 0
},
"luminanceDelta": 0.0133,
"sameFamily": false,
"sameTemperature": true,
"sharedTones": [
"dark"
],
"lighterColor": "Pine Bark",
"moreSaturatedColor": "Merlot"
},
"accessibility": {
"pairContrastRatio": 1.17,
"textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
"safeText": [
{
"color": "Merlot",
"background": "#541E2E",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 13.11
},
{
"color": "Pine Bark",
"background": "#4A3728",
"foreground": "#FFFFFF",
"label": "white text",
"ratio": 11.24
}
]
},
"useCases": {
"chooseFirstWhen": "Merlot is better when the design needs dark pink character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #541E2E.",
"chooseSecondWhen": "Pine Bark is better when the design needs dark and earth tone orange character, warm temperature, and the specific HEX value #4A3728.",
"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/merlot-vs-pine-bark.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/merlot.json",
"https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/pine-bark.json"
],
"url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/merlot-vs-pine-bark/",
"apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/merlot-vs-pine-bark.json"
}