In this article, you will learn
- how a characterization profile can be created,
- which setting options are available, and
- which additional options are provided by Expert Mode.
1. Introduction
The Create Characterization Profile step is the final sub-step within Characterization. The purpose of this sub-step is to determine the parameters for the profile calculation based on the measured measurement data, and to calculate the characterization profile together with all additional DeviceLink profiles. The result is a color policy that can subsequently be used in the $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW application for the color space transformation of the print data during rendering.
Creating a Characterization
For information on how characterization is integrated into the workflow of the profiling project and which sub-steps need to be completed, see the article Creating a Characterization.
2. Setting Options
The Create Characterization Profile dialog is divided into two areas:
- Variations – this area displays all variations that have already been created. New variations can be added or deleted here. A variation ultimately corresponds to a color policy that can be selected in the application.
- Setting Options – this area displays all setting options for creating the characterization profile.
Figure 1: The Create Characterization Profile dialog in Standard Mode
2.1. Variations
Each variation generates its own color policy based on the same measurement data, using individual separation settings.
The following options are available in the Variations area:
- Add [2] – clicking this button creates a new variation. Which separation settings are used to generate the color policy can be set very quickly by selecting a Template [5].
- Delete [3] – clicking this button deletes the selected variation.
- Duplicate [1] – clicking this button copies the selected variation along with all of its separation settings.
- List of Variations [4] – shows all created variations with their name, creator, and creation time, as well as the status Success if the characterization profile for the variation has already been calculated.
When the dialog is opened for the first time, the application automatically creates a Temporary Variation in which all settings can be configured. Click Create Characterization Profile to start the calculation. Click Cancel to discard the temporary variation.
Completed Variations Cannot Be Edited
Please note that a completed variation can no longer be edited. To use the settings of a completed variation as the starting point for a new variation, the variation must be duplicated.
2.2. "General" Tab
The following setting options are available on the General tab in Standard Mode:
- Color Policy Name [6] – enter the name of the color policy to be created here. Use Insert Placeholder to insert placeholders – for example
${printer.name},${substrate.name}, or${global.current_date}– which are automatically populated when the color policy is created. A preview of the resolved name is displayed below the input field. - Comment [7] – an optional comment on the variation can be entered here. Placeholders can also be used in this input field, for example to automatically generate a description of individual variation parameters.
Figure 2: The General tab of the Create Characterization Profile dialog in Standard Mode
2.3. Additional Options in Expert Mode
Expert Mode [8] can also be enabled in the upper right area. This displays the additional Separation Parameters, Gamut Adjustment, Spot Colors and Additional Parameters tabs, as well as additional settings in the General tab.
As the name suggests, this option is intended for users who need more control over the profile calculation. However, all the settings required for creating the characterization profile are already covered in Standard Mode.
2.3.1. "General" Tab
With Expert Mode enabled, the following additional setting options are available on the General tab:
- CMYK Working Color Space [9] – specifies the ICC profile used as the CMYK working color space for the DeviceLink profile calculation. Click + Add to upload another ICC printer profile.
- RGB Working Color Space [10] – specifies the ICC profile used as the RGB working color space for the DeviceLink profile calculation. Click + Add to upload another ICC RGB profile.
Figure 3: The General tab with Expert Mode enabled
2.3.2. "Separation Parameter" Tab
The following setting options are available on the Separation Parameter tab in Expert Mode:
- GCR [11] – specifies the extent to which chromatic colors are replaced by black (Gray Component Replacement). The value can be set between 0% and 100% using the slider or input field. The default value is 50%. For more information on this parameter, see the article GCR.
- Black Start [12] – specifies the tone value at which the black channel starts to build up in the separation. The value can be set between 0% and 100% using the slider or input field. The default value is 30%. For more information on this parameter, see the article Black Start.
- Black Point Compensation (BPC) [13] – specifies the extent to which the black point of the source color space is adapted to the black point of the printing system. The default value is 50%. The value can be set between 0% and 100% using the slider or input field. For more information on this parameter, see the article Black Point Compensation (BPC).
- White Point Compensation for CMYK [14] – specifies the extent to which the white point between the white point of the reference color space and the paper white of the substrate is interpolated for CMYK color values. The default value is 30%. The scale between White Point:Reference Color Space and Substrate [15] is displayed below the slider. The reference white point is calculated from the selected CMYK working color space, whilte the paper white is determined from the measurement data of the unprinted substrate. For more information on this parameter, see the article White Point Compensation.
- White Point Compensation for RGB [16] – defines the extent to which the white point between the white point of the reference color space and the paper white of the substrate is interpolated for RGB color values. The default value is 30 %. The scale between the White Point: Reference Color Space and Substrate [17] is displayed below the slider. The reference white point is calculated from the selected RGB working color space, while the paper white is determined from the measurement data of the unprinted substrate. For more information on this parameter, see the article White Point Compensation.
- Priority of the separation order [18] – defines the order in which the color channels are prioritized during separation. The available options are CMYK and KCMY. If CMYK is selected, gray tones are preferentially built using Cyan. If KCMY is selected, gray tones are preferentially built using K. For more information on this parameter, see the article Priority of the separation order.
Figure 4: The Separation Parameter tab in Expert Mode
When Do I Need to Change the "White Paper Compensation for RGB" Option?
Change this value only if you need to output RGB data and "RGB to Substrate" is selected under "Color Space Conversion" in the Output Configuration. If "CMYK Working Color Space" is selected under "Color Space Conversion", this value has no effect when converting RGB data to the substrate profile.
2.3.3. "Gamut Adjustment" Tab
The following settings are available in the Gamut Adjustment tab in Expert Mode:
- Keep Colors pure and increase Saturation [19] – enable the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and/or Black options to keep the respective primary colors pure during separation, thereby increasing their saturation. Keeping the primary colors pure is therefore an important parameter when you want to achieve a visually more vivid appearance with more saturated colors in the print.
- Use Black Start even for Pure Black [20] – enable this option to apply the black start defined in the Separation Parameter tab to pure black as well. This option is enabled by default.
- Gamut Expansion [21] – defines the extent to which the color gamut is expanded when transforming from the source color space to the target color space. The default value is 0%. For more information on this parameter, see the article Gamut Expansion.
- Enable Gray-Axis Correction [22] – enable this option to deliberately shift the gray axis of the color policy in a specific direction or to correct a color cast in the gray tones. When enabled, two additional sliders are displayed. The Green–Red [23] slider shifts the gray axis along the a axis, while the Yellow–Blue [24] slider shifts it along the b axis of the Lab color space. The value is specified in ΔE00. The default value is 0. For more information on this parameter, see the article Gray-Axis Correction.
Figure 5: The Gamut Adjustment tab in Expert Mode with Gray-Axis Correction enabled
Do You Want to Achieve More Vivid or Saturated Prints?
You can best achieve this by enabling all primary colors under the Keep Colors pure and increase Saturation option and additionally setting the Gamut Expansion value to 100%.
Please note, however, that the effect will only be clearly visible if the generated substrate profile (target color space) has a larger gamut than the reference profile (CMYK working color space). Substrate profiles with a smaller gamut than the reference profile cannot produce more "saturated" prints.
2.3.4. "Spot Colors" Tab
In the Spot Colors tab, the separation settings for converting spot colors into the target color space are defined.
The following settings are available in the Spot Colors tab in Expert Mode:
- Total Area Coverage [26] – defines the maximum total area coverage for the separation of spot colors.
- Black Start Threshold [25] – defines the tone value from which the Black channel is used when separating spot colors. This allows you to precisely control how spot colors. This allows you to precisely control how spot colors such as PANTONE Cool Gray are built up in print, thereby reducing "noise" in solid color areas.
- Minimum Print Value per Output Channel [27] – defines the minimum tone value that must be reached for a color channel to be used in the separation. A value of 2% provides a good starting point for avoiding unnecessary "noise" in lighter tones.
- Separation Method [28] – defines the method used to separate spot colors. The following options are available:
- Lowest ∆E – the spot color is separated with the smallest possible color difference (∆E) from its target value. All available output channels are used, up to the number specified under Max. Color Channels.
- Visually – the spot color is separated to achieve a visually uniform color tone. The solid color is calculated to achieve the best possible match. The gradations of the spot color use the same output channels as the solid color, even if this does not result in the lowest possible color difference for every gradation.
Important: for chromatic and light spot colors, there is no difference between the Lowest ∆E and Visually methods. For darker spot colors, the Visually method ensures a better match of the color tone, even though a lower ∆E value could be achieved by adding Black. - CMYK only– the spot color is separated exclusively into the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black channels. Additional channels for gamut-extending colors are not used, regardless of the resulting color difference.
- Minimum number of channels up to ∆E value – the spot color is separated using as few output channels as possible. The number of channels is gradually reduced as long as the color difference does not exceed the specified ∆E Threshold.
- CMYK only up to ∆E value – the spot color is separated into the Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black channels as long as the color difference does not exceed the specified ∆E Threshold. Additional color channels are used only if the deviation exceeds the treshold.
- Max. Color Channels [29] – defines the maximum number of color channels that may be used for the separation of a spot color.
Figure 6: The Spot Color tab in Expert Mode
2.3.5. "Additional Parameters" Tab
The Additional Parameters tab is divided into three sections: Advanced Profiling Settings, Measurement Data Correction and Overprint Rules.
The following settings are available in this tab:
- Illumination [31] – defines the illuminant used for profile calculation. The following options are available:
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- Observer [30] – defines the standard observer used for profile calculation. The available options are
2°and10°. - Profile accuracy [33] – defines the accuracy at which the profile is calculated. The following options are available:
- Low – 5 fulcrums – the profile is calculated using five fulcrums per color channel. This option is suitable for fast calculations where color accuracy requirements are lower.
- Medium – 9 fulcrums – the profile is calculated using nine fulcrums per color channel.
- High – 21 fulcrums – the profile is calculated using 21 fulcrums per color channel. This option is selected by default and provides a balanced ratio between color accuracy and calculation time.
- Maximum – 27 fulcrums – the profile is calculated using 27 fulcrums per color channel. This option provides the highest color accuracy but requires the longest calculation time and produces the largest profile file.
- Total Area Coverage [32] – defines the maximum total area coverage for profile calculation. Use this option if you only discover at a later stage that the total area coverage selected in the Total Area Coverage Reduction step is too high and, for whatever reason, you need to limit the total are coverage further.
- Correct outliers [34] – enable this option to automatically detet and correct outliers in the measurement data during profile calculation. A maximum of three consecutive outliers can be corrected.
- Measurement Data Smoothness [35] – defines the degree to which the measurement data is smoothed before the profile is calculated. The following options are available:
- Without – the measurement data is used without smoothing.
- Low – a low degree of smoothing is applied (default setting).
- Medium – a medium degree of smoothing is applied.
- Strong – a strong degree of smoothing is applied.
- Overprint Rules [36] – defines in a matrix which overprint combinations of color channels may be taken into account during profile calculation. Click a cell in the matrix to change its value. The following values are available:
ALL– the two color channels overprint using all available overprint information, e.g., solid colors and tone value gradations. The complete overprint combination is taken into account during profile calculation.SOLID– the two color channels overprint using solid colors only. Only the solid-color overprints of this combination are taken into accuont during profile calculation.–– the two color channels do not overprint. This overprint combination is not taken into account during profile calculation.
Figure 7: The Additional Parameters tab in Expert Mode
Article Update: $PRODUCT_NAME_WORKFLOW 2.3.0 – 08/2026






