Custom ICC Profile Workflow

Understanding ICC Profile Function & OS setting, Mac, Windows

The type of ICC Profile

ICC profiles can be either generic or custom, the color mode can be RGB or CMYK, etc.*

*we only talk about the RGB & CMYK in this essay, but the color modes are more than these two.

Generic ICC Profiles

Generic profiles are created by the device manufacturer. The manufacturer creates the profile by using profiling software and instruments to examine the color characteristics of a group of the same devices under controlled conditions. The generic profile that comes with a device is not specific to that device or its working conditions.

Custom ICC profiles or Unique ICC Profile

Custom profiles describe a specific device under set working conditions. Typically, using a color measuring instrument, such as a spectrophotometer or colorimeter, and its companion software, creates custom profiles. You can also create custom display profiles by using Adobe Gamma (Windows), the Display Calibrator Assistant (Mac OS X), or ColorSync (Mac OS 9.x) to modify a generic profile for your monitor.

Simply say that your Operating System should engage one Generic RGB ICC Profile, for example sRGB, Adobe RGB (these two RGB profiles are almost the global standard ICC profile for RGB monitors to unite the color to display), and one Custom RGB ICC Profile an unique color information profile to describe the current Monitor’s color status, to perform the color contribution with others RGB device. There are millions monitors in the world, how can we see the same colors with each other monitors? RGB ICC Profile workflow can help us to achieve this operation.

Custom RBG ICC engaged by ColorSync Utility

Custom RGB ICC Profile location path

Custom RGB ICC Color space Chart