Nearest-color comparison

Zaffre vs Smalt

Zaffre and Smalt are different blue colors with HEX values #0014A8 and #003399. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 34.4, their contrast ratio is 1.16:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Zaffre and Smalt are visually related colors. Smalt is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.16:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Zaffre#0014A8

Smalt#003399

Quick Difference Summary

The main measurable differences between Zaffre and Smalt across RGB distance, luminance, hue, saturation, and contrast.

RGB distance34.4

Pair contrast1.16:1

Luminance delta0.0134

Hue delta13 deg

Lighter colorSmalt

More saturatedZaffre

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Zaffre

Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#0014A8 RGB0, 20, 168 HSL233, 100, 33 CMYK100, 88, 0, 34 Luminance0.0333 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

blue color

Smalt

Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#003399 RGB0, 51, 153 HSL220, 100, 30 CMYK100, 67, 0, 40 Luminance0.0467 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Zaffre or Smalt

Choose ZaffreZaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.

Choose SmaltSmalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyZaffreSmalt

HEX#0014A8#003399

RGB0, 20, 1680, 51, 153

HSL233, 100, 33220, 100, 30

CMYK100, 88, 0, 34100, 67, 0, 40

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneJewel ToneJewel Tone

Luminance0.03330.0467

Black contrast1.67:11.93:1

White contrast12.61:110.86:1

Shared tonesJewel Tone

Accessibility and Contrast

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

Zaffrewhite text - 12.61:1

Smaltwhite text - 10.86:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Zaffre#0014A8

Smalt#003399

#0522FF#0522FF

#0052F5#0052F5

#A89500#A89500

#996600#996600

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": "zaffre",
    "name": "Zaffre",
    "hex": "#0014A8",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      20,
      168
    ],
    "hsl": [
      233,
      100,
      33
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      88,
      0,
      34
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0333,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.67,
      "white": 12.61
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.61
    },
    "description": "Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zaffre/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
  },
  {
    "slug": "smalt",
    "name": "Smalt",
    "hex": "#003399",
    "rgb": [
      0,
      51,
      153
    ],
    "hsl": [
      220,
      100,
      30
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      100,
      67,
      0,
      40
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0467,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.93,
      "white": 10.86
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.86
    },
    "description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
    "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 34.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.16,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 13,
    "saturation": 0,
    "lightness": 3
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.0134,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "jewel-tone"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Smalt",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Zaffre"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.16,
  "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
  "safeText": [
    {
      "color": "Zaffre",
      "background": "#0014A8",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 12.61
    },
    {
      "color": "Smalt",
      "background": "#003399",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 10.86
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
  "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/zaffre-vs-smalt.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "zaffre-vs-smalt",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Zaffre vs Smalt",
  "verdict": "Zaffre and Smalt are visually related colors. Smalt is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.16:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Zaffre and Smalt are different blue colors with HEX values #0014A8 and #003399. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 34.4, their contrast ratio is 1.16:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 34.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.16,
  "colors": [
    {
      "slug": "zaffre",
      "name": "Zaffre",
      "hex": "#0014A8",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        20,
        168
      ],
      "hsl": [
        233,
        100,
        33
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        88,
        0,
        34
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0333,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.67,
        "white": 12.61
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.61
      },
      "description": "Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Smalt, it is darker and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/zaffre/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json"
    },
    {
      "slug": "smalt",
      "name": "Smalt",
      "hex": "#003399",
      "rgb": [
        0,
        51,
        153
      ],
      "hsl": [
        220,
        100,
        30
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        100,
        67,
        0,
        40
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0467,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.93,
        "white": 10.86
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.86
      },
      "description": "Smalt is #003399, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is lighter and similar in saturation. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.",
      "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/colors/smalt/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 34.4,
    "contrastRatio": 1.16,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 13,
      "saturation": 0,
      "lightness": 3
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.0134,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Smalt",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Zaffre"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.16,
    "textRecommendation": "Do not use this pair for text; use it for neighboring palette colors, decoration, or low-emphasis surfaces.",
    "safeText": [
      {
        "color": "Zaffre",
        "background": "#0014A8",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 12.61
      },
      {
        "color": "Smalt",
        "background": "#003399",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 10.86
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Smalt is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #003399.",
    "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/zaffre-vs-smalt.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/smalt.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/zaffre-vs-smalt/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/zaffre-vs-smalt.json"
}