Profiling for a purpose will always result in greater accuracy, better quality, and improved results. Knowing the intended type of output can help guide your choices about how you make your specific profile.

The type of target output you want to create determines your choices and how you select certain values for ink restrictions and ICC build options. The choices you'll make during the workflow need to remain focused on this purpose for each media you create. Consider the following when profiling your own media and answers some fundamental questions about your workflow:

• What is the purpose of your profile?
• How much ink will your media accept?
• How much time to I have to spend on profiling?
• What is more important: a large gamut or an accurate match to another device?
• Are you trying to match Pantone Spot colors?
• Will this profile be used with ICC profiles for more accurate output?
• Will the prints produces with this profile be used in Indoor/outdoor applications?
• What is the realistic viewing distance and resolution needed?
• Am I more concerned about print speed or print quality?
• Are B&W images or images with saturated colors going to be printed most?

Your answers will guide you during the profiling workflow and help you remain focused. Profiling your own media means expanding your options using the suggestions provided here to help you create better profiles.

Back to Profiling Workflow.