ICC Profile Basics

ICC profiles are used throughout color management workflow. There are input profiles for camera and scanners, and output profiles for monitors and printers. The point of using an ICC profile is to achieve color consistency between different devices. For example, if a photographer captures a particular scene and wants to reproduce it on a photo printer in the studio, the colors should be properly managed with ICC profiles using the AdobeRGB color gamut. The photographer should select the AdobeRGB color space on the camera when shooting, and use the camera’s ICC profile to reproduce the colors on the printer. When editing, the monitor should be calibrated to the AdobeRGB color gamut (and an ICC profile for the AdobeRGB color gamut will be generated). When printing out the photos, the printer’s ICC profile should be selected, and will reflect the AdobeRGB color gamut, to get best results and consistent colors. This is a working example of how and why to use an ICC profile in a photography workflow.

The ICC profile v2 was introduced in June 1994 and v4 was introduced in December 2001. Version 4 has been published as an ISO standard (ISO 15076-1 is based on ICC v4.2.0 and ISO 15076-1: 2010-12 is identical to ICC v4.3.0). Several changes were introduced in v4. These changes mostly removed ambiguities in the v2 specification so as to deliver a more precise definition of PCS. The main benefit of using v4 is improved predictability of profile performance and reducing differences in interpretation. Regardless of which CMM is used, when a pair of profiles is used, they should always produce the same result. The major improvements made in v4 over v2 are:

An ICC profile is a file containing color information for devices conducting color communication. It was developed by the ICC, and two versions (v2 and v4) are in use. ICC profiles are used in color management workflows to provide consistent color reproduction. Also, these profiles contain data essential to accurate simulations on monitors, for example, simulating printing. This requires the use of a printer ICC profile. So the ICC profile is a very powerful tool for people working with color management. While there are many differences between ICC profiles in v2 and v4, the most crucial improvements in v4 are the removal of ambiguities coded into v2. Therefore, the ICC recommends using v4 profiles, but continues to supports v2.