ICC Profiles

The device-independent color space that the ICC defined is called the profile connection space (PCS). The PCS is a color space large enough to include all the color gamuts of different input, display, and output devices. An ICC profile contains methods that map the colors that a device can create or display to the values of the corresponding colors in the PCS. The ICC profile can be used to convert an image from a device-specific color space to the PCS, or from the PCS to a device-specific color space.

Product manufacturers create ICC profiles that you can use with their devices. For example, if you take a photograph with a digital camera, you can associate the photograph with the ICC profile for your camera. Then, when you want to print that photograph, the color management system converts the color data from the camera into the PCS. The printer then uses its ICC profile to convert the photograph data from the PCS into its color space, and prints the photograph as accurately as it can.

For more information about the ICC, ICC profiles, and the PCS, see the ICC website:

http://www.color.org