ICC profile

An ICC profile describes exactly how a device shows or captures colors, so colors match between screen, printer and file. It's the foundation of color management: without accurate profiles a photo looks different on every device. For print, you tie your paper and printer's ICC profile to your edit.

The most important ICC profile to start with is your monitor's: calibrate your screen regularly, or you'll edit on colors that are off. For printing you use the ICC profile of the paper and printer combination, often a free download from your print shop. With soft proofing you load that profile to see in advance how your print will come out. Color management feels technical, but a single calibrated screen already saves a world of surprises.

Related terms

Soft proofing Color space Gamut Gamma Export

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The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.

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