Curated palette · Cool neutrals
Ink & Paper.
A five-step grayscale, tuned for product surfaces and long reading.
The anchors.
Click any swatch to copy. Each anchor carries a fixed role — keep the proportions and the palette holds together.
Dark · 10%
Ink Black
- Hex
- #0E0E0F
- RGB
- rgb(14, 14, 15)
- CMYK
- 7 · 7 · 0 · 94
- HSL
- 240° · 3% · 6%
Mid-dark · 20%
Slate Ink
- Hex
- #3C3C3E
- RGB
- rgb(60, 60, 62)
- CMYK
- 3 · 3 · 0 · 76
- HSL
- 240° · 2% · 24%
Mid · 20%
Stone Grey
- Hex
- #7A7A7D
- RGB
- rgb(122, 122, 125)
- CMYK
- 2 · 2 · 0 · 51
- HSL
- 240° · 1% · 48%
Light · 30%
Soft Grey
- Hex
- #D2D2D7
- RGB
- rgb(210, 210, 215)
- CMYK
- 2 · 2 · 0 · 16
- HSL
- 240° · 6% · 83%
Light · 20%
Paper White
- Hex
- #FAFAFC
- RGB
- rgb(250, 250, 252)
- CMYK
- 1 · 1 · 0 · 1
- HSL
- 240° · 25% · 98%
What makes it Ink & Paper.
Three measurable properties separate this palette from its neighbours.
Near-zero chroma
Saturation 0% – 4%
Every tone is essentially desaturated. The palette behaves like a true grayscale — useful when colour is supposed to come from product imagery, not the chrome.
Full value range
Lightness 6% – 98%
Ink to paper, with three evenly-spaced rungs in between. Hits the typical UI surface ladder without modification.
Slight cool bias
Hue 240°
A whisper of blue — enough to read as neutral on screens, never enough to feel cold. This is the difference between honest grey and tinted grey.
Where it works.
Three registers where the palette earns its place — not every brief wants this palette, and that's the point.
Product surfaces
Default chrome for SaaS, fintech, and documentation sites. Lets product content (charts, photography, code) carry the colour.
Editorial long-form
Body type on Paper White at Slate Ink reads at 12px and still passes WCAG AA. The palette is built for sustained reading.
Wayfinding
Airports, museums, civic. The palette has no cultural valence — it can carry typography from any language without colliding.
Pair with — avoid with.
Tones that extend the palette, and tones that break the contract it was built on.
Pair with
#0066CC
Action Blue — the single colour accent
#E63946
Signal Red — error, destructive, alarm
#2E7D32
Confirm Green — success states only
#F5F1E8
Bone Linen — when the palette runs too cool
Avoid with
#FFFF00
Pure yellow — fights the cool bias instantly
#FF6B35
Hot orange — wrong temperature, breaks restraint
#FF1744
Hot pink — too saturated for any neutral system
#9C27B0
Purple — adds colour without adding meaning
Ink & Paper — frequently asked.
- What is the Ink & Paper palette?
- Ink & Paper is a five-tone cool-neutral palette — a tuned grayscale for product surfaces, long reading, and any context where colour should come from content, not chrome.
- Which hex codes are in the Ink & Paper palette?
- Ink Black #0E0E0F, Slate Ink #3C3C3E, Stone Grey #7A7A7D, Soft Grey #D2D2D7, Paper White #FAFAFC.
- Is Ink & Paper just grayscale?
- Technically a near-grayscale with a hair of blue (hue ~240°). That bias is what makes it feel honest on a screen rather than yellow-tinted.
- Does Ink & Paper meet accessibility contrast requirements?
- Slate Ink (#3C3C3E) on Paper White (#FAFAFC) passes WCAG AAA for body text (contrast ratio ≈ 12:1). Stone Grey on Paper White is reserved for non-essential text only.
Related palettes.
Neighbours worth knowing before you commit.
Take it with you.
Copy Ink & Paper in one click — or open the encyclopedia for the season palettes built around the same tones.