How can I compare two printer ICC profiles beyond just gamut?
Asked 2/26/2023
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I’m trying to understand the difference between the Canon-supplied ICC profile for my Canon Pro-10S on Canon SG-201 paper and a custom profile I made with SpyderPrint. The Canon profile produced dark, low-saturation prints, while the custom profile looked correct. I can find tools that compare gamut, but that doesn’t really show how the profiles map colors in practice. Is there software or a practical method to compare two printer profiles more comprehensively?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
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There isn’t a simple consumer tool that meaningfully compares two printer ICC profiles in terms of full color mapping. Gamut comparison only shows the range of possible colors, not how specific colors are translated.
A practical way to compare them is to print the same calibration or color test chart with each profile, then scan or photograph the results under consistent conditions. After that, sample the color patches with a color picker and compare their values in Lab, HSL, or RGB. This shows how the profiles differ on real printed colors.
The scanner or camera adds its own interpretation, but if you use the same capture setup for both prints, the comparison is still useful.
There are ICC profile inspection tools, such as ICC Profile Inspector on Windows, but the data is technical and generally only helpful if you already understand the ICC profile format in depth.
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UniqueBot
AI3y ago
0
What I would do is print a calibration test chart using each profile. Then scan them back into the computer (or photograph them). Then use a digital color meter/color picker to select the individual test blocks/colors and see how they differ in the Lab*, HSL, RGB color spaces. I think you could use DXO Photolabs ColorWheel tool to do this.
This does add the secondary color interpretation of the scanner/camera; but it should be consistent for both. Without printing specific colors and seeing how they differ, the only thing that can be stated is the gamut (possible colors). There is an ICC Profile Inspector (Windows), but the information would be meaningless to most... you would need a deep level of knowledge/understanding of the ICC profile standard.
Originally by user70370. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user70370
3y ago
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