About color profiles

Last updated on Oct 27, 2025

Learn about how color profiles in Adobe Photoshop align screen colors with final prints and displays for accurate color management.

Color profiles are standardized files that define how a device reproduces color. They map device-specific color values to a universal color space. It allows Adobe Photoshop to maintain consistent color across monitors, scanners, cameras, and printers.

Accurate ICC-compliant profiles are essential for reliable color management. Without them, the same image may appear differently across devices, leading to unnecessary and potentially damaging edits. For example, a scanned image might look incorrect in another program due to device differences. With the right profile, Photoshop compensates for these differences and displays the image’s actual colors.

Types of color profiles in Photoshop

Monitor profiles

Describe how your monitor currently reproduces color. This is the first profile you should create, as accurate on-screen color is essential for making reliable design decisions. Inaccurate colors may lead to incorrect edits based on misleading feedback.

Input device profiles

Define the color range that scanners and cameras can capture. Adobe recommends using Adobe RGB for compatible cameras, while sRGB is the default for most consumer devices. Advanced users may create custom profiles based on specific lighting conditions or film types.

Output device profiles

Indicate the color space for printers and presses, helping Photoshop match document colors to the printer's range based on the ink and paper used. Glossy paper usually offers a wider color range than matte paper. Built-in printer profiles provide a good calibration starting point.

Document profiles

Document profiles define the RGB or CMYK color space for a file, ensuring that color values correspond to actual appearances. For instance, R=127, G=12, B=107 is just a set of numbers until it’s tagged with a profile like Adobe RGB, which interprets it as a specific shade of purple. Photoshop assigns profiles to new documents based on your Working Space settings. In contrast, untagged documents only have raw color numbers and rely on the working space profile for display and editing.