A palette that survives
the print run
Roll colors until something works, then find out what it costs: what can be read on what, and what the four inks will do to it before anyone orders a carton. C’est gratuit. Vraiment.
- Free, no account.
- Every palette and every export is free from the first open — no sign-up, no e-mail, no card.
- Runs in your browser.
- The colors never leave your device. A palette is shared as a link, not as an upload.
- The space bar.
- Roll the palette, lock what you want to keep, roll again. It is the fastest way there is to find a color.
- Contrast as you go.
- Every pair is measured against WCAG, so text set on these colors can actually be read.
- Made for print.
- CMYK for each color, and a preview of what four inks make of it on paper.
- Takes any shape.
- CSS, JSON, a list of hex, an SVG strip, or a swatch card as PDF.
What it does
Find the color, then prove it works
A generator is the easy half. The half that saves a reprint is everything after it.
Features
More than five squares of color
Build it, check it, and take it out in whatever shape the next tool needs.
Building
How a palette comes about.
- The space bar rolls everything not locked
- Nine harmonies, or none at all
- Any color typed in, picked or pasted as hex
- Hue, saturation and lightness on their own sliders
Reading
Whether it can be used.
- WCAG ratio for every pair in the palette
- AAA, AA and large-text grades named
- The palette as protanopia, deuteranopia or tritanopia sees it
- Black or white chosen for every swatch's own label
Printing
What happens on paper.
- CMYK for every color
- A preview of the same color in four inks
- A warning on colors ink cannot reach
- A swatch card as PDF, with the contrast grid on it
Taking it away
Where it goes next.
- CSS custom properties, ready to paste
- JSON with every space at once
- An SVG strip for a deck or a brief
- The palette in the address bar — the link is the palette
How it works
Four steps to a palette you can defend
Press space until something catches, then spend a minute proving it.
Roll
Press the space bar. Lock the color you want to keep and press it again.
Adjust
Nudge hue, saturation and lightness, or type the hex you were given.
Check
Read the contrast pairs, and look at it the way a color-blind eye would.
Take it
Copy it as CSS, send the link, or download the swatch card for the printer.
Who it is for
Wherever a color has to be agreed on
The palette is the easy part; agreeing on it is not.
Packaging design
A palette for a carton, with the CMYK the printer will ask for already beside it.
Brand work
A set that holds together across a logo, a label and a website, in one place.
Decks and briefs
A strip of color to drop into a presentation, or a link to send instead.
Accessible interfaces
Contrast measured as the palette is built, rather than argued about at review.
Print shops
A swatch card to hold against the stock, with the ink figures printed on it.
Anyone stuck
Press the space bar. A color you would never have typed is two seconds away.
FAQ
Good to know
Is it really free?
Yes. Every palette and every export is free from the first open — no account, no credits and no card.
Where is my palette kept?
In the address bar. The colors are written into the link, so nothing is stored on a server and a palette is shared by sending the URL.
Are the CMYK figures the ones my printer will use?
They are a plain conversion, not a profile. A press has its own ink, paper and profile, and will land somewhere close but not identical. Use them to talk to a printer, and ask for a proof before the run.
What does “shifts in print” mean?
That color is outside what four inks can reach. The tool shows what the inks make of it instead — usually duller. A bright screen green is the classic case.
What is the contrast number?
The WCAG ratio between two colors, from 1 to 21. Text needs 4.5 to pass AA, or 3 if it is large. The tool grades every pair in the palette.
Why does the palette always have a dark and a light color?
Because a palette without them cannot set text. Every roll leaves one color dark enough to write in and one light enough to write on.
The next palette is one press away
Roll it, check it, and take it away as CSS, a link or a swatch card.