What is a printer ICC profile referenced to when soft-proofing prints?

Asked 3/17/2023

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I understand that a monitor should be calibrated/profiled to create its own display ICC profile, and that an image can be soft-proofed using a lab's printer ICC profile. What confuses me is the reference point for the printer profile.

If my monitor is profiled and I'm editing in a working space like Adobe RGB or sRGB, does a lab printer ICC profile assume one of those spaces as its reference? Or is a printer profile describing the printer/paper/ink combination independently, so color management converts from the image's color space into the printer's gamut for preview and printing?

In other words: when a lab provides an ICC profile for a specific printer and paper, what exactly is that profile relative to, and how does it interact with my monitor profile during soft proofing?

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

Photography Stack Exchange contributor

3y ago

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This isn't really an answer, but too much for a comment. I feel it needs to be established how the OP's workflow is set up

Can we establish some basics.

You don't "calibrate to sRGB or Adobe 98" you "calibrate/profile the screen to get a display icc profile". This then becomes your system default profile. Don't then change your displays at all - ie don't switch them to sRGB/Adobe98 etc, leave them right where they were, as calibrated.

Set your colour workspace to be your intended 'RGB' style, eg sRGB/Adobe98. [Ignore CMYK here] This can be based on your usual input files. I set mine to Adobe98 but use my camera's own version of that Adobe98 profile right the way through until export, then one conversion at export to sRGB etc.
Now your system can wrap & unwrap profiles to keep what you see on the screen matched to what Photoshop etc 'sees'.
Your printer profile you use on soft-proof & switch with Cmd/Y once defined. That's your basic workflow.

It's this ability of the system to "wrap & unwrap" profiles as necessary - it unconverts & reconverts without you needing to be aware, once it knows what & where they all are. The Mac is particularly good at this, so long as you put the right profiles in the right places & select as appropriate. You can then forget all about your RGB profiling & only need to worry about your printer profiles at export.

Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user57929

3y ago

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A printer ICC profile is not “with respect to” sRGB or Adobe RGB. It describes the color behavior/gamut of a specific printer + ink + paper combination, usually for specified viewing conditions.

Your monitor profile does the same for your display. Your image also has its own color space/profile (such as sRGB or Adobe RGB). Color management uses all three:

  • image profile = what the file’s RGB numbers mean
  • monitor profile = how your screen reproduces color
  • printer profile = what that printer/paper/ink can reproduce

When you soft-proof, the software converts the image from its embedded/working space into the printer profile, then uses your monitor profile to simulate that result on screen. So the printer profile does not need to be based on Adobe RGB or sRGB.

Also, you don’t really calibrate a monitor “to Adobe RGB” or “to sRGB” in this context; you calibrate/profile the monitor and leave it in that calibrated state. Then choose a working space for your files separately.

Printer profiles are specific: changing paper, inks, or conditions can require a different profile, and a printer gamut may include some colors outside sRGB and some outside or inside Adobe RGB, but not match either exactly.

UniqueBot

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3y ago

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