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Color Management: CMYK profiles and ICC profiles

Color management means managing the conversion of colors between different devices such as computer printers, monitors, TV screens, digital cameras, and corresponding devices.

The objective of color management is to obtain a good match of colors across all the devices. For example, the color of an image should appear the same on the monitors, mobile devices, printers, and as a printed poster.

CMYK Profiles

CMYK features four sets of colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. CMYK profiles are generally used for printing purposes. You might be familiar if you have changed ink in the standard printer.

CMYK is used for any printed product, from posters to business cards.

ICC profiles

ICC (International Color Consortium) formed by 8 vendors to create an open vendor-neutral color management system that works transparently across all the operating systems and software.

In color management, an ICC profile is the set of data that characterizes the color space, or color input or output device, according to the standards of the International Color Consortium. ICC profiles describe the color attributes of different devices.

By using ICC profiles we can make sure that the color of the print or image looks the same across different devices and while printing as well.

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