Q14. What is a profile?

A14. A profile is a series of data belonging to a color-handling device (monitor, printer, etc.) and that describes how to pass on color range and color data. The color range indicates the range of color that can be output by that device.

How color data is passed on depends on the device.

- Input devices (monitor, camera, etc.) have a table that replace RGB and CMYK values with device-independent values, such as L*a*b*.

- Output devices (printer, projector, etc.) have a table that replaces device-independent values, such as L*a*b*, with RGB and CMYK values.

Color information can be mutually and accurately passed via L*a*b* and other means.

The following four types of profiles are handled by this machine:

- RGB profile

- CMYK profile (target profile)

- Output profile

- Device link profile

The details of each profile type are explained individually.