OKLCH to Lab Converter

Converted Lab Output --
100%

Wide-Gamut & Linear Formats

Modern CSS color space notations derived from this color

Contrast Analysis (WCAG 2.1)

Checks the converted color against foreground or background targets for accessibility compliance.

Downgrading OKLCH to CIELAB

Converting OKLCH to CIELAB (Lab) moves a color backward in color science history. You are taking a modern color space built in 2020 and translating it into a standard established in 1976.

Why Make This Conversion?

OKLCH is generally superior for web design, gradients, and accessibility. However, CIELAB remains the industry standard for many print workflows, physical manufacturing, and older color science software. If you are passing a web color to a physical production system, you may need to provide CIELAB coordinates.

The Conversion Pipeline

You cannot map OKLCH coordinates directly to CIELAB coordinates. The color must be translated back into a linear light space first.

  1. Convert OKLCH to OKLab using trigonometry.
  2. Convert OKLab to Linear sRGB using inverse LMS matrices.
  3. Convert Linear sRGB to the CIE XYZ reference space (using a D50 white point).
  4. Apply the CIELAB non-linear curve to get the final L, a, and b values.

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