- published: 03 Apr 2012
- views: 10383
In color management, an ICC profile is a set of data that characterizes a color input or output device, or a color space, according to standards promulgated by the International Color Consortium (ICC). Profiles describe the color attributes of a particular device or viewing requirement by defining a mapping between the device source or target color space and a profile connection space (PCS). This PCS is either CIELAB (L*a*b*) or CIEXYZ. Mappings may be specified using tables, to which interpolation is applied, or through a series of parameters for transformations.
Every device that captures or displays color can be profiled. Some manufacturers provide profiles for their products, and there are several products that allow an end user to generate his or her own color profiles, typically through the use of a tristimulus colorimeter or preferably a spectrophotometer.
The ICC defines the format precisely but does not define algorithms or processing details. This means there is room for variation between different applications and systems that work with ICC profiles. As of 2009[update], the current version of the specification is 4.2, but most devices support only version 2.