Color profiles, also known as ICC or ICM files, contain a collection of settings that help calibrate how colors appear on your monitor. You can install them on your Windows PC or Mac to help get more accurate colors.
While color profiles are often used for displays, you can also find and install color profiles for a printer to help it print more accurate colors.
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Color Calibration 101
Not all computer monitors look identical. Different monitors may even have slightly different colors depending on the graphics card in the computer they’re connected to. But, for professional photographers, and graphics designers, accurate colors are very important.
In addition to modifying your display’s colors using its on-screen display—that is, the buttons and overlay on the monitor itself that allow you to adjust color settings—it may be helpful to install a color profile. These are sometimes provided by the monitor’s manufacturer, and custom color profile files are often available on hobbyist websites that promise better color calibration than the manufacturer settings.
You’ll see both ICC and ICM files. ICC stands for International Color Consortium and originated at Apple, and ICM stands for Image Color Management and originated on Windows. These files are basically identical, and you can install .ICC or .iCM files on either Windows or macOS.
A serious professional will want dedicated display calibration hardware for the most accuracy possible. For everyone else, installing an ICC file can help you make your display’s colors more accurate without needing any specialized hardware.
If you’re happy with your display’s colors, there’s no need to do this. If something seems off or you’re working with photography and graphic design and you need more accuracy, this can help.
How to Find a Color Profile
There are two places you’ll find color profiles online. First, you may find an ICC or ICM file on the display manufacturer’s website. Head to the download page for your specific display model on its manufacturer’s website. You may see a .ICC or .ICM file provided for download. You may also see a larger monitor driver package or a .zip file. If you download and extract that package, you may find a .ICC or .ICM file inside. Not all manufacturers will provide these files.
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