Introduction to calibration and characterization

To establish the ICC profile of a printer, you must first choose the paper and ink for the printer and manage the quantity of ink on the support ( Calibration ).
And in a second step to print in CMYK or RGB with the printer a test chart (for example an IT8.7 / 3 chart) and to measure with a spectrophotometer the colors in L * a * b * of the test chart to generate a profile ICC ( Characterization ).
The printer's ICC profile, calculated with appropriate software, therefore makes the link between CMYK or RGB and L * a * b * spaces.
The purpose of the ICC profile is to optimize the chroma of your prints.

For a large format printer or press profile, the method is the same.
For professional results, the use of a spectrophotometer is still necessary.

For more information, see the website: Wikipedia.org - ICC Profile