Nearest-color comparison

Zaffre vs Ultramarine

Zaffre and Ultramarine are different blue colors with HEX values #0014A8 and #120A8F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 32.4, their contrast ratio is 1.14:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.

Zaffre and Ultramarine are visually related colors. Zaffre is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.14:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.

Differences Use cases Accessibility JSON

Zaffre#0014A8

Ultramarine#120A8F

Quick Difference Summary

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

RGB distance32.4

Pair contrast1.14:1

Luminance delta0.01

Hue delta11 deg

Lighter colorZaffre

More saturatedZaffre

Side-by-Side Color Profiles

blue color

Zaffre

Zaffre is #0014A8, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Ultramarine, it is lighter and more saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.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

Ultramarine

Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is darker and less saturated. Use it for historical references, pigment palettes, and cultural color systems, with white text as the safer foreground option.

HEX#120A8F RGB18, 10, 143 HSL244, 87, 30 CMYK87, 93, 0, 44 Luminance0.0233 Best textwhite text

Color page WCAG HEX atlas

When to Use Zaffre or Ultramarine

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

Choose UltramarineUltramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.

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

Technical Comparison Table

PropertyZaffreUltramarine

HEX#0014A8#120A8F

RGB0, 20, 16818, 10, 143

HSL233, 100, 33244, 87, 30

CMYK100, 88, 0, 3487, 93, 0, 44

FamilyBlueBlue

TemperatureCoolCool

ToneJewel ToneJewel Tone

Luminance0.03330.0233

Black contrast1.67:11.47:1

White contrast12.61:114.32:1

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

Ultramarinewhite text - 14.32:1

Related Palette Strip

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

Zaffre#0014A8

Ultramarine#120A8F

#0522FF#0522FF

#1E10E5#1E10E5

#A89500#A89500

#868F0A#868F0A

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 Ultramarine, it is lighter and more saturated. 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": "ultramarine",
    "name": "Ultramarine",
    "hex": "#120A8F",
    "rgb": [
      18,
      10,
      143
    ],
    "hsl": [
      244,
      87,
      30
    ],
    "cmyk": [
      87,
      93,
      0,
      44
    ],
    "family": "blue",
    "temperature": "cool",
    "tone": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "luminance": 0.0233,
    "contrast": {
      "black": 1.47,
      "white": 14.32
    },
    "wcag": {
      "AA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ],
      "AAA": [
        "#FFFFFF",
        "#F5F5F5"
      ]
    },
    "bestText": {
      "text": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.32
    },
    "description": "Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is darker and less saturated. 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/ultramarine/",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
  }
]

Differences

{
  "rgbDistance": 32.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.14,
  "hslDelta": {
    "hue": 11,
    "saturation": 13,
    "lightness": 3
  },
  "luminanceDelta": 0.01,
  "sameFamily": true,
  "sameTemperature": true,
  "sharedTones": [
    "jewel-tone"
  ],
  "lighterColor": "Zaffre",
  "moreSaturatedColor": "Zaffre"
}

Accessibility

{
  "pairContrastRatio": 1.14,
  "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": "Ultramarine",
      "background": "#120A8F",
      "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
      "label": "white text",
      "ratio": 14.32
    }
  ]
}

Use cases

{
  "chooseFirstWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
  "chooseSecondWhen": "Ultramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.",
  "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-ultramarine.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json",
  "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
]

Full JSON dataset

{
  "datasetVersion": "1.0.0",
  "slug": "zaffre-vs-ultramarine",
  "type": "nearest",
  "name": "Zaffre vs Ultramarine",
  "verdict": "Zaffre and Ultramarine are visually related colors. Zaffre is the lighter option. They share similar temperature behavior. Their mutual contrast is 1.14:1, so the pair is too low for text and better treated as a palette relationship.",
  "summary": "Zaffre and Ultramarine are different blue colors with HEX values #0014A8 and #120A8F. According to Colors Encyclopedia, their RGB distance is 32.4, their contrast ratio is 1.14:1, and the comparison helps choose between tone, temperature, and accessibility behavior.",
  "rgbDistance": 32.4,
  "contrastRatio": 1.14,
  "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 Ultramarine, it is lighter and more saturated. 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": "ultramarine",
      "name": "Ultramarine",
      "hex": "#120A8F",
      "rgb": [
        18,
        10,
        143
      ],
      "hsl": [
        244,
        87,
        30
      ],
      "cmyk": [
        87,
        93,
        0,
        44
      ],
      "family": "blue",
      "temperature": "cool",
      "tone": [
        "jewel-tone"
      ],
      "luminance": 0.0233,
      "contrast": {
        "black": 1.47,
        "white": 14.32
      },
      "wcag": {
        "AA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ],
        "AAA": [
          "#FFFFFF",
          "#F5F5F5"
        ]
      },
      "bestText": {
        "text": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.32
      },
      "description": "Ultramarine is #120A8F, a cool blue color with jewel tone character. Compared with Zaffre, it is darker and less saturated. 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/ultramarine/",
      "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
    }
  ],
  "differences": {
    "rgbDistance": 32.4,
    "contrastRatio": 1.14,
    "hslDelta": {
      "hue": 11,
      "saturation": 13,
      "lightness": 3
    },
    "luminanceDelta": 0.01,
    "sameFamily": true,
    "sameTemperature": true,
    "sharedTones": [
      "jewel-tone"
    ],
    "lighterColor": "Zaffre",
    "moreSaturatedColor": "Zaffre"
  },
  "accessibility": {
    "pairContrastRatio": 1.14,
    "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": "Ultramarine",
        "background": "#120A8F",
        "foreground": "#FFFFFF",
        "label": "white text",
        "ratio": 14.32
      }
    ]
  },
  "useCases": {
    "chooseFirstWhen": "Zaffre is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #0014A8.",
    "chooseSecondWhen": "Ultramarine is better when the design needs jewel tone blue character, cool temperature, and the specific HEX value #120A8F.",
    "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-ultramarine.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/zaffre.json",
    "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/colors/ultramarine.json"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/compare/zaffre-vs-ultramarine/",
  "apiUrl": "https://www.colorsencyclopedia.com/api/compare/zaffre-vs-ultramarine.json"
}