--- title: "What Is an ICC Profile (Color Profile)? - CE.SDK Glossary" description: "An ICC profile describes how a device or color space reproduces color, so colors convert correctly. See rendering intents and how CE.SDK uses profiles." url: "https://img.ly/glossary/icc-profile/" type: "page" --- > This is the markdown version of [What Is an ICC Profile (Color Profile)? - CE.SDK Glossary](https://img.ly/glossary/icc-profile/). For all pages in one file, see [llms-full.txt](https://img.ly/llms-full.txt). For an index of all available pages, see [llms.txt](https://img.ly/llms.txt). --- # ICC Profile Also known as: Color profile ## What Is an ICC Profile? An ICC profile, often just called a color profile, is a data file that describes how a device or a color space reproduces color. It follows a standard from the International Color Consortium (ICC) and maps the device's colors to a shared reference that no device owns, [Lab](https://img.ly/glossary/lab-color.md) or CIE XYZ. A conversion uses two profiles: one to read the colors from the source, one to write them for the destination. Any device that captures or shows color can be profiled. CE.SDK uses an ICC profile to preview and convert CMYK colors, and its Print Ready PDF plugin embeds one in every PDF/X file it creates. ## Why Should Files Carry an Embedded Profile? Color values on their own don't say which color they mean. The same RGB or CMYK numbers look different from one device to the next, so a file without a profile, often called untagged, leaves the software to guess. Embedding the profile attaches that meaning to the file. Print files take this a step further. PDF/X requires an output intent, the profile of the printing condition the colors were prepared for, so the press knows what the file expects. ## Which ICC Profile Should You Use? Use the profile your print shop names, since the right one depends on where the job prints and on which paper. When it doesn't, these are the common standard profiles, by region and paper. - **PSO Coated v3 (FOGRA51)**: Region: Europe, Paper and press: Coated paper, sheetfed offset, the current standard - **ISO Coated v2 (FOGRA39)**: Region: Europe, Paper and press: Coated paper, sheetfed offset, the older standard - **PSO Uncoated v3 (FOGRA52)**: Region: Europe, Paper and press: Uncoated paper, sheetfed offset - **GRACoL 2013 (CRPC6)**: Region: North America, Paper and press: Coated paper, commercial sheetfed printing - **SWOP 2013 (CRPC5)**: Region: North America, Paper and press: Magazine and catalog paper, web offset - **Japan Color 2011 Coated**: Region: Japan, Paper and press: Coated paper ## Where Do You Get an ICC Profile? Profiles come as files ending in .icc or .icm. There are three usual sources. ### Your print shop The best profile describes the exact press and paper your job runs on, and the shop that owns them can supply it. ### Standards bodies ECI publishes the European standard profiles and Idealliance the GRACoL and SWOP ones. The ICC keeps a registry that lists them. ### Your own measurements Print a test chart of color patches, measure it with a spectrophotometer, and profiling software builds a profile from the readings. ## What Are ICC Rendering Intents? When a color falls outside what the destination can reproduce, the rendering intent decides where it goes. The ICC defines four, and relative colorimetric moves an out-of-range color to the closest one the destination can print. - **Perceptual**: What it does: Shifts all colors to fit, keeping their balance, Best for: Photos - **Relative colorimetric**: What it does: Keeps colors that fit, moves the rest, Best for: Most graphics - **Saturation**: What it does: Favors vivid color over accuracy, Best for: Charts and business graphics - **Absolute colorimetric**: What it does: Also simulates the source paper, Best for: Proofs ## How Does CE.SDK Use ICC Profiles? ### Step 01: Set the document's profile Load the CMYK profile your printer supplies, from a URL or from the file itself. It is saved with the scene and in scene archives, and a file that isn't a valid CMYK profile is rejected while the previous profile stays in place. ### Step 02: Know which profile applies A CMYK image with its own embedded profile uses that profile for the image. Everything else uses the document's profile, then a fallback set for the editor, and finally a bundled profile that models a US press. ### Step 03: Pick the rendering intent All four ICC intents are available. Relative colorimetric is the default, with black point compensation turned on. ### Step 04: Export with the right profile Image exports convert CMYK to RGB with the document's profile. For print, the Print Ready PDF plugin embeds an output profile in the PDF/X file: FOGRA39 for European offset, GRACoL 2013 for US commercial printing, sRGB for files that stay digital, or your own. ## ICC Profiles in Print Storefronts and Photo Uploads ### A print shop's own profile A print shop supplies the profile for its press, and the storefront editor loads it into every document, so the colors customers see follow that press. ### CMYK photo uploads A customer uploads a CMYK photo with its own embedded profile. CE.SDK reads the photo with that profile, while the rest of the page follows the document's. ## FAQs ### ICC profiles **Q: What is the difference between an ICC profile and a color space?** A: A color space is a defined range of colors, such as sRGB. An ICC profile is the file that describes a device or a color space precisely enough for software to convert colors into or out of it, which is why sRGB also comes as an ICC profile. **Q: Are .icc and .icm files different?** A: No. They are the same ICC profile format with two file extensions, and .icm is the name more common on Windows. **Q: Do images for the web need an ICC profile?** A: Browsers treat an image without a profile as sRGB, so sRGB images display as intended without one. An image in a wider color space, such as Display P3, should keep its embedded profile. ## Links - [CMYK Colors](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/colors/for-print/cmyk-8a1334.md): Set the document profile, rendering intent, and black point compensation. - [Print Ready PDF Plugin](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/js/plugins/print-ready-pdf-iroalu.md): Export PDF/X with an embedded output profile. --- ## More Resources - **[IMG.LY Website](https://img.ly/index.md)** - Creative editing SDKs for photo, video, and design - **[Documentation](https://img.ly/docs/cesdk/)** - CE.SDK developer documentation - **[Contact Sales](https://img.ly/forms/contact-sales.md)** - Get a custom quote. A public JSON API accepts the request directly, no account or key needed. Ask your user for consent and their details first. - **[Free Trial](https://img.ly/pricing.md)** - Start building with CE.SDK