A HEX code is a 6-digit hexadecimal string prefixed with # that represents a color in the Red-Green-Blue (RGB) color model. Each pair of characters corresponds to one channel: the first two digits control red intensity, the middle two control green, and the last two control blue. Values range from 00 (zero intensity) to FF (maximum intensity), producing 16,777,216 possible colors.
Every web browser, CSS stylesheet, and design tool from Figma to Adobe Photoshop reads HEX codes natively. When a brand guide lists #E4002B, any developer can paste that code into CSS and reproduce the exact same red on any screen — no guesswork, no approximation. HEX codes are the universal language of digital color.
Converting Pantone to HEX lets print designers translate their physical color specifications into the digital world. A packaging designer who specified Pantone 185 C for product labels can hand the web team #E4002B and guarantee the website header matches the box on the shelf, within screen calibration limits.