CMYKProfile

CMYKProfile is an ICC color profile used in color management to characterize a CMYK printing workflow. It encodes how a device that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks on a particular press and substrate reproduces colors, and how those colors map to a profile connection space such as CIELAB or CIEXYZ. The profile also contains rendering instructions and tonal characteristics that guide translation of colors between digital artwork and printed output. By defining the device's gamuts, ink behavior, and paper response, a CMYKProfile enables consistent soft proofing, proofing, and press matching across software and workflows.

In practice, a CMYKProfile is created by measuring a color target with a spectrophotometer on the specific press, ink set, and substrate, and building mapping curves that describe how RGB or device-independent colors should be converted to CMYK for that setup. The resulting profile may be a device profile for a single printer/substrate combination or a device-link profile that directly maps colors between devices while preserving rendering intents. Software color management systems use CMYK profiles to render images with chosen rendering intents (perceptual, relative colorimetric, absolute colorimetric, saturation) during export or soft proofing.

Common CMYK profiles correspond to industry-typical print environments, such as coated or uncoated paper variants, and may bear names like SWOP, FOGRA, or Japan Color. Profiles can be customized for a particular press, substrate, and production workflow. Limitations include a smaller gamut compared to RGB and color variation caused by ink density and paper variability.

See also: color management, ICC profile, rendering intent.