The Profile-Creation Process

The process of creating device profiles varies from device to device and with the software you use, but the basic concept device characterization is the same regardless of the device.

In device characterization, color values from the device are measured with a dedicated instrument such as a colorimeter. Specialized software compares the measured values to the device-independent values of those colors and stores this information in a profile. The idea is to measure a wide range of colors far more than you may think the device can reproduce so that the software can determine the gamut of the device.

The profile-creation process can range from quick and painless to involved and complex. The ease of the procedure depends on the type of device being profiled, the tools being used to create the profiles, and your own knowledge level it helps to understand some color-science terminology. In Chapter 4, we will walk through the characterization process for several types of devices to create custom profiles. But for now, we'll focus on understanding and obtaining generic profiles as well as custom profiles created by third parties.