How is XYZ converted back to sRGB?

The X, Y, Z values are divided by 100, multiplied by the inverse sRGB-to-XYZ matrix to get linear RGB, then each channel is gamma-encoded with the sRGB transfer function and scaled to 0 to 255. This is the exact reverse of the forward transform.

What does out of gamut mean?

The sRGB gamut covers only a triangle of all visible colors. Some valid XYZ values map to negative or greater-than-one linear RGB, meaning no sRGB display can show them. This tool clamps such channels to the 0 to 255 range and warns you.

What white point does this use?

It uses D65, the daylight white point with a color temperature near 6500K that sRGB is defined against. The inverse matrix is the D65 sRGB matrix, so your XYZ values should also be relative to a D65 reference white for accurate results.

What scale should my XYZ values be on?

This tool expects the reference white to have Y equal to 100, matching the common Lab convention. If your XYZ values are on a 0 to 1 scale, multiply each by 100 before entering them, or your output will be far too dark.

Why does pure XYZ white not give pure RGB white?

It does, when you use the D65 white values X equals 95.05, Y equals 100, Z equals 108.88. If you enter equal X, Y, Z values you get a slightly tinted near-white because those are not the D65 white point coordinates.

CIE XYZ to RGB Color Converter

Convert CIE XYZ back to sRGB

This is the inverse of the RGB-to-XYZ transform: it takes device-independent CIE XYZ tristimulus values and turns them back into displayable sRGB and hex. It is the final step when you have worked in a perceptual space such as Lab or have measured a color with a colorimeter and need a value you can actually paint to screen. A built-in gamut check flags colors that sRGB cannot reproduce.

How it works

The X, Y, Z inputs are divided by 100 to put them on a 0–1 scale, then multiplied by the inverse sRGB matrix for the D65 white point:

R =  3.2404542*X - 1.5371385*Y - 0.4985314*Z
G = -0.9692660*X + 1.8760108*Y + 0.0415560*Z
B =  0.0556434*X - 0.2040259*Y + 1.0572252*Z

Those linear values are gamma-encoded with the sRGB transfer function — 1.055 * c^(1/2.4) - 0.055 above 0.0031308, otherwise c * 12.92 — and scaled to 0–255. If any linear channel lands below 0 or above 1, the color sits outside the sRGB gamut and is clamped.

Example and notes

The D65 white point X = 95.05, Y = 100.00, Z = 108.88 converts cleanly to #ffffff. Deep, saturated spectral colors — many cyans and greens especially — frequently fall outside sRGB and will trigger the out-of-gamut warning; the clamped value is the closest representable color, not an exact match. Always verify your XYZ values share the D65 white point and the Y = 100 scale, since both assumptions are baked into the matrix.