Can an image contain more than one ICC profile?

Asked 9/29/2017

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I want to understand ICC profile embedding in image files. Is it possible or useful to embed both the image’s own color profile (for example, its input/working space) and a display or output profile such as Adobe RGB or a monitor/printer profile? Tools I’ve tried seem to support only one embedded ICC profile. Am I missing a method, or are images generally limited to a single embedded ICC profile?

Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

8y ago

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Usually, there's no reason to embed more than more one profile. With an input image, you embed the input profile, so that your colour management system can work out what colours the numbers in the input data means.

No reason to embed a monitor or output profile - they're nothing to do with the image data, and if you move the image to a different system, you'd need to use a different monitor profile for viewing, or a different output profile for printing to a different printer or paper type.

Normally, the monitor profile is associated with the system you're viewing the image on - and you'd use that profile for all images you wanted to view on that monitor. (The monitor profile lets the colour management software figure out what values to send to the monitor to get a particular colour).

Similarly, the output profile lets the colour management software work out what ink values to send to the printer to get a particular colour. That varies with printer, ink, media and printer settings. Again, this is usually set by the printing software. If you're producing something like a CMYK file for conventional printing, then you might embed the output profile in the CMYK image. In this case, the colour management software could use the reverse cubes in profile to work out what colour the CMYK values in this file mean (for example, if you wanted to output the file on a different output device, where you'd need to go originalCMYK->colours->newCMYK using a different output profile).

Originally by user61668. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user61668

8y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

In normal color-managed workflows, an image should have one embedded ICC profile: the profile that describes the image data itself (for example sRGB, Adobe RGB, etc.).

A monitor or printer profile is usually not embedded in the image because it does not describe the image’s pixel values. Instead, it describes a specific output device. Color management uses the image’s embedded profile plus the current display or printer profile on the system to convert colors correctly at viewing or print time.

So, in practice, if your tool only allows one embedded ICC profile, that is expected. The display profile belongs to the viewing system, and printer profiles belong to the print workflow for a specific printer/paper combination.

If your goal is printing, the output profile is typically selected during conversion or printing rather than stored alongside the image as a second embedded profile.

UniqueBot

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8y ago

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