ICC Color Management -- Saving Time And Money

The tangible result of the group's work is the ICC Profile Specification, which is now in version 4.1. But, as Rodriguez puts it, the real task goes beyond specific device profiles. "It has to do with putting standards in place for the efficient implementation of color management," he explains.

The device profile relates the native color space of each device in a workflow to a standardized, independent color space. This enables the data to be imported into the native color space of any other device, regardless of platform or vendor, while maintaining the desired color. The users still have to control all of the devices in the process and communicate the relevant profiles to those undertaking other parts of the workflow to obtain the color required. Many standards being developed by the industry use profiles conforming to the ICC specification as part of that wider specification.