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Color Profiles Guide

The aim of this topic is to introduce the basic concepts of ICC color profiles and the steps required to generate a profile.

 

Why are color profiles needed?

No device that reads or writes colored images can reproduce all possible colors. Each device has a gamut of colors that it can read or write; colors outside that gamut are not reproduced.

As each device has a different gamut, there is a need to convert between the colors available to one device and those available to another. The software that performs this conversion is known as a color management system. It needs information about the gamut of each device, and this information is provided in a color profile.

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What is an ICC color profile?

A color profile is a file that describes the color reproduction characteristics of a particular device.

The letters ICC stand for International Color Consortium, which is a group of companies in the computer and color publishing industry. An ICC color profile is a color profile of the form specified by the ICC.

See www.color.org.

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Calibration

A color profile describes the color characteristics of a device as they were at the time of measurement. However, these characteristics may change with time, temperature, etc.

Calibration is the process by which the device is reset to its standard color characteristics as described in its color profile.

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Generating printer ICC profiles

You may find some ICC profiles supplied with your RIP software; you may be able to buy the profiles you need; or you may need to generate your own. In the latter case, you will need some special equipment.

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Equipment

To generate your own ICC color profiles, you will need color measurement equipment, color profiling software, and a viewing cabinet.

Making printer ICC profiles involves measuring hundreds of color patches, which can be done reliably only with an automated spectrophotometer. An instrument with 3- or 4-mm aperture gives good results provided the target to be measured is smooth. It should support standard illuminants (e.g. D50). Most have 45/0 geometry.

Important aspects to consider when choosing color profiling software are: compatibility with your operating system, flexibility (e.g. black control, editing capabilities), accuracy of results, documentation, and user interface.

Viewing cabinets are expected to provide even illumination over an area, with one or more illumination types. The illumination type most often used in Graphic Arts applications is D50, as recommended in the ANSI PH2.30-1989 and ISO 3664:1998(E) standards.

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References

More information is available from the following Web sites of reputable equipment manufacturers.

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