Pantone to HSV Converter
Select any Pantone Solid Coated color to see its exact HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value ” also called HSB) values. All 2,371 Pantone colors are included. Use the values to enter into Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, or any design tool with an HSV color picker, or to programmatically transform the color with hue rotations and saturation shifts.
What is Pantone to HSV conversion?
Pantone is a print specification system ” each code specifies an exact ink mix. HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) is a color model used by design tools to represent on-screen colors. HSV does not exist on its own: it is derived from an RGB color, which is derived from an sRGB hex value, which is a digital approximation of the physical Pantone ink. So the "Pantone to HSV" conversion is really a chain: Pantone code ’ catalog HEX approximation ’ exact RGB ’ exact HSV.
Because HSV is a lossless transform of RGB (no precision is lost in RGB ’ HSV ’ RGB round-trips), the HSV values shown are exact for the RGB values in our catalog. What they approximate is the printed Pantone color ” which is a physical thing, not a mathematical one. For most design work this is sufficient; for print-critical work, verify against a physical Pantone chip.
How to use this converter
- Select a Pantone color from the dropdown.
- Read the HSV values below, alongside HEX, RGB, and CMYK.
- Click Copy on any value to paste it into your design tool.
- Click the color name to visit its dedicated Pantone page with more details and closest neighbors.
How the conversion works
The conversion is a direct RGB ’ HSV transform. Given an RGB triplet (r, g, b) in 0“255: V = max(r, g, b); S = (max ’ min) / max; H = the angle around the color wheel determined by which channel is the maximum. When max = min (grayscale), S = 0 and H is undefined (we default to 0°). When max = 0, the color is black, so V = 0 and S is meaningless. All other cases have a well-defined HSV triple.
Because HSV is a pure mathematical reorganization of RGB, there is no approximation or rounding beyond the typical integer rounding to whole degrees and whole percentages. HSV ’ RGB ’ HSV round-trips return exactly the original values (subject to that rounding). This is why Pantone ’ HSV is a clean one-way conversion while HSV ’ Pantone requires perceptual matching with Delta E 2000.
Use cases
- Design tool handoff. Enter a Pantone color into Photoshop, Figma, or Sketch, which use HSV internally for their color pickers.
- Brand color palette building. Rotate a Pantone brand color through the hue axis in HSV to generate on-brand accent variations programmatically.
- Generative design. Use the HSV values as seeds for procedural color palettes ” varying saturation or value while keeping hue constant keeps the palette on-brand.
- Color accessibility work. Adjust saturation or value to hit target contrast ratios while preserving the brand hue ” HSV exposes those axes clearly.
- Educational reference. Seeing a familiar Pantone color expressed as HSV builds intuition for what the numbers actually mean.
Common mistakes
- Using the HSV values as if they are the Pantone spec ” HSV is a screen approximation of the print color, not a substitute for physical verification.
- Confusing HSV with HSL ” HSL values are different for the same color, and mixing them in one palette causes inconsistency.
- Assuming HSV is CSS-native ” HSL has a CSS function (hsl(...)), but HSV does not (there is no hsv(...) in CSS). Convert to HSL if you need CSS-ready values.
HSV vs HSL at a glance
| Attribute | HSV | HSL |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd channel | Value = max(r, g, b) | Lightness = (max + min) / 2 |
| Pure red at full brightness | H=0, S=100, V=100 | H=0, S=100, L=50 |
| Used by | Photoshop, Figma, Sketch | CSS, some web tools |
| CSS function | none | hsl(h, s%, l%) |
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert Pantone to HSV?
Select a Pantone Solid Coated color from the dropdown. The converter reads the color RGB values (already precomputed in our catalog), converts them to HSV using the standard RGB-to-HSV formula, and displays the hue (0“360°), saturation (0“100%), and value (0“100%) alongside the HEX and RGB values. No approximation is involved ” the HSV values are exact derivations of the Pantone color RGB approximation.
What is HSV?
HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) is a color model that maps the RGB cube into a cylindrical coordinate system. Hue is the angle around the color wheel (0° red, 120° green, 240° blue); saturation is how far the color is from gray (0% gray to 100% fully saturated); value is the maximum RGB channel, controlling brightness (0% black to 100% full brightness). Photoshop, Figma, and Sketch all use HSV internally ” it is what designers manipulate when they move the color picker.
Why would I need Pantone in HSV?
Two use cases dominate. First, design tools: if you are designing in Photoshop, Figma, or Sketch and want to work with a brand Pantone color, you need its HSV values to enter into the color picker, because those tools do not accept Pantone codes natively. Second, programmatic color work: scripts, generative design systems, and procedural color palettes typically work in HSV because hue-based transformations (rotating hue, adjusting saturation) are more natural in HSV than in RGB or HEX.
Are Pantone HSV values exact?
HSV values are exact derivations of the Pantone color RGB approximations in our catalog ” mathematically, HSV is a lossless transform of RGB, so there is no precision loss. However, the underlying RGB values are themselves approximations of the physical Pantone inks. So the HSV shown is accurate for the RGB values in our catalog, but those RGB values approximate the print color. For most digital work this is sufficient; for print-critical work, always verify against a physical Pantone chip.
What is the difference between Pantone-to-HSV and Pantone-to-HSL?
Both start with the same RGB values and convert through different formulas. HSV stores brightness as "value" ” the maximum RGB channel ” which means saturated colors can also be dark (HSV (0, 100, 50) is a dark red). HSL stores brightness as "lightness" ” the average of the max and min channels ” which means pure white and pure black can only be reached with saturation = 0. If you are generating CSS, use HSL; if you are entering values into Photoshop/Figma/Sketch, use HSV.