GO TO THE PRINTER CALIBRATION PAGE
ICC calibration allows the colorimetric behavior of a combination of printer, inks and paper to be precisely characterized in order to create a customized ICC profile. This profile corrects the printer’s colorimetric deviations and provides more accurate, consistent and reproducible color reproduction.
The ICC (International Color Consortium) system defines a color management standard for describing and converting colors between the different devices in a color workflow: camera, monitor, scanner, printer, etc.
An ICC profile describes the colorimetric behavior of a device or a combination of devices. In printing, an ICC profile describes the behavior of a specific combination of printer, inks and paper.
When an image is printed, color management software uses the ICC profile of the image and the printer profile to convert colors into the color space that the printer is capable of reproducing.
This conversion is performed by a color management engine called a CMM (Color Management Module). The CMM interprets ICC profiles and calculates the necessary conversions between the different color spaces.
ICC profiles, color management software and the CMM therefore work together to ensure the most consistent color reproduction possible throughout the color workflow.
In the case of a customized printer ICC profile, profile quality is essential: even an excellent printer and excellent paper cannot deliver their best results if the profile used does not accurately characterize their colorimetric behavior.
Each combination of printer, ink and paper has its own specific colorimetric behavior. A custom ICC profile takes this behavior into account and improves the correspondence between the image displayed on screen and the printed result. It also helps reduce test prints, manual corrections, and wasted paper and ink.
Yes. An ICC profile is created for a specific combination of printer, ink and paper. If you change the ink brand or type of paper, a new ICC profile will be required.
In theory, changing the print resolution can modify the colorimetry. In practice, it is generally not necessary to create an ICC profile for every resolution. This depends on the equipment used and the level of accuracy required.
The procedure consists of downloading and then printing a CMP target using a specific printing configuration: printer, ink, paper and resolution. The printed targets are then sent to CMP to be measured and analyzed using a spectrocolorimeter. The measurements are then used to generate the customized ICC profiles.
The targets are measured using an automated X-Rite i1 iO scanning system combined with an i1Pro 3 spectrophotometer. This system allows a large number of color patches to be measured with a high degree of accuracy.
EXPERT targets contain 2,418 color patches.
PREMIUM targets contain 6,696 color patches.
The large number of patches allows the printer’s colorimetric behavior to be characterized in greater detail and improves the performance of the color management engine.
The area around the gray axis is particularly important for photographic printing, especially for black and white prints. CMP targets contain a large number of patches in this area to allow more precise characterization of neutral grays, warm grays and cool grays.
EXPERT profiles are calculated from 2,418 color measurements, including 650 patches specifically dedicated to black and white characterization.
PREMIUM profiles are calculated from 6,696 color measurements, including 1,736 patches specifically dedicated to black and white characterization.
With a color printer, obtaining a perfectly neutral black and white print can be difficult. Color shifts are not necessarily linear and are difficult to correct manually.
Dedicated black and white ICC profiles provide better control over the grayscale range and produce consistent tonality across the entire print.
The white of the paper is visible in the light areas of a print where very little or no ink is used. In the midtones and darker areas, the resulting tonality depends more on the corrections applied by the profile.
A dedicated black and white profile takes the paper white into account in order to provide more consistent tonality across the entire grayscale range.
Black and white profiles offer a choice of five tonalities:
Very cool: COLD2
Cool: COLD1
Neutral: NEUTRAL
Warm: WARM1
Very warm: WARM2
These profiles can be used to print monochrome or RGB files with reproducible tonality.
Yes. CMP targets were developed for creating color profiles but are also optimized for black and white printing. They include a large number of patches around the gray axis.
EXPERT profiles contain 650 patches specifically dedicated to black and white, while PREMIUM profiles contain 1,736 black and white-specific patches.
A clogged or defective nozzle changes the printed colors and will distort the measurement results. The resulting ICC profiles will therefore be incorrect.
It is necessary to perform a nozzle check before printing the targets and resolve any problems before proceeding with the target prints. For additional safety, it is advisable to perform another nozzle check after printing the targets to make sure that no nozzle became clogged during printing.
Yes. It is recommended to align the print heads regularly, including and especially on a new printer. Proper alignment improves print quality and detail reproduction.
The targets must be printed with all color management correctly disabled, both on input and output. CMP recommends using Adobe Color Printer Utility to print the target TIFF files without color management.
The target TIFF files do not contain a color space and must not receive any color management when they are opened or printed.
The targets must represent the actual behavior of the printer, ink and paper combination. If color correction is applied when printing the target, the measurements will no longer represent the actual behavior of the printer and the resulting ICC profile may be incorrect.
Adobe Color Printer Utility allows TIFF targets to be printed with color management correctly disabled. This step is essential to obtain measurements that accurately represent the actual behavior of the printer.
Select the media or paper type corresponding to the paper being used, disable color management in the printer driver and select the print quality normally used.
It is important to record or save this exact configuration, as it must be used again when using the ICC profile.
Yes. When the paper being used is not available in the driver’s list, the paper manufacturer should normally indicate an equivalent media type to select in the driver.
This choice is important because it affects, among other things, the amount of ink used, pre-correction curves and certain paper-related parameters.
Yes. The targets are available in A4 and A3 formats. Some are also available pre-assembled to facilitate printing on printers using 17- or 24-inch rolls.
The RGB EXPERT and PREMIUM targets include an area designed to facilitate visual detection of clogged nozzles using two gradients.
This area is a visual aid, but an actual nozzle check must be performed before and after printing the targets.
The targets must not be cut, except for targets intended for roll printing, which may be cut. The text fields at the bottom of the pages must be completed, and nothing should be written on the back of the prints.
The targets must be allowed to dry in the open air for at least 12 hours before being shipped.
The targets must be sent in an A4-sized cardboard envelope. They must not be folded. It is recommended to protect them between two sheets of paper and a rigid sheet of cardboard to prevent rubbing and damage during transport.
The targets must arrive in perfect condition, without folds or abrasion.
After the targets have been received and measured, the ICC profiles are generally produced within 24 to 48 hours and sent by email.
The RGB STANDARD PACK includes one ICC V2 profile with standard shadow rendering.
The RGB COLOR + BLACK AND WHITE PACK includes V1 and V2 color profiles as well as five black and white profiles with different tonalities: COLD2, COLD1, NEUTRAL, WARM1 and WARM2.
The profile with standard color rendering is the V2 profile, to be used in Relative or Perceptual rendering mode for color. The V1 profile provides an alternative with slightly lighter shadows.
The Perceptual rendering mode adapts the entire range of colors in the image in order to preserve the relationships between colors and gradients as effectively as possible when some colors cannot be reproduced by the printer.
The Relative rendering mode preserves colors that can be reproduced by the printer and adapts those that fall outside its gamut. The image white point is generally adapted to the white of the paper.
Black Point Compensation adapts the darkest values in the image to the deepest black that can actually be reproduced by the printer. It helps preserve shadow detail and prevents dark areas from becoming excessively blocked.
The CMYK ICC profile is calculated with optimized separations according to the equipment being used.
A CMYK color + black and white pack is also available, including one color profile and five black and white profiles: COLD2, COLD1, NEUTRAL, WARM1 and WARM2.
In digital photography, even though inkjet printers use CMYK inks, files produced by digital cameras, image editing workflows and printer drivers generally operate in RGB.
Photographers should therefore use the targets intended for the RGB workflow.
The CMYK workflow is mainly used by professional printers, printing companies and prepress professionals. In this case, the profiles must be calculated specifically for CMYK mode and CMP CMYK targets must be used.
Yes. Driver configuration procedures are available for the main brands of photographic printers, including Epson, Canon and HP.
The exact settings must nevertheless be adapted to the printer model and the paper being used.
In Windows, right-click each ICC file and select “Install Profile”. The profile will be installed in the system color profile directory.
On macOS, ICC profiles must be placed in the ColorSync directory.
When printing, exactly the same printer driver configuration used to print the targets must be used.
Color management must be disabled in the printer driver. Color management is then handled by the software used for printing, such as Photoshop.
The ICC profile is calculated for a specific printer, ink and paper configuration. If the printer driver settings are changed, the printer’s behavior may also change and the ICC profile will no longer correspond exactly to the conditions for which it was created.
Not with the same level of accuracy. An ICC profile is designed for a specific combination of printer, ink and paper. Using another paper normally requires the creation of a new ICC profile.
Yes. A customized ICC profile reduces the amount of testing and manual correction required to obtain the desired result. This can reduce wasted paper, ink and time.
ICC profiles allow the printer’s colorimetric behavior to be characterized and the necessary corrections to be applied before printing. They therefore provide better control over colors, neutral values, gradients and the different tonalities of the image.
The CMP page indicates that color shifts occurring during the transfer from the printed medium to the final result make it impossible to obtain high-quality calibration for this type of process.
A custom ICC profile is calculated from measurements made on your own combination of printer, ink and paper. It therefore allows the actual behavior of your equipment and the paper being used to be precisely characterized.
A standard profile may not correspond exactly to your printer, inks or paper.
The large number of patches measured in the targets makes it possible to characterize the different color and tonal areas more precisely. This characterization can produce smoother gradients and reduce tonal breaks, particularly in the shadows.
The patches located around the gray axis allow neutral, warm and cool grays to be characterized more accurately. This area is particularly sensitive for black and white printing and plays an important role in the quality and consistency of the resulting tones.
Profile quality depends directly on following the target printing procedure correctly.
It is particularly important to check the nozzles, align the print heads, use the correct paper and printer driver settings, disable color management when printing the targets, and allow sufficient drying time before shipping the targets.
GO TO THE PRINTER CALIBRATION PAGE
Copyright (c) 2026 christophe metairie photographie - Tous droits reserves