ICC profiles not being applied to prints—still an issue after four years?

This is really just a matter of users not understanding how to install & use ICC printer profiles. There's nothing broken.

For starters, ICC printer profile file(s) just need to be copied to /Library/ColorSync/Profiles.

• Note this is the top level /Library folder, not the user Library folder (~/Library) and not the System Library folder. After copying the profile(s) there they will be available in the print dialogs in Photoshop, CaptureOne, etc.
• Further note: these ICC profile files aren't really printer profiles - they are paper profiles for a specific printer.

Second, to use a specfic ICC profile in Photoshop, in the PS print dialog you must select "Photoshop manages colors" and then select the appropriate ICC profile. There are similar options in C1 and other apps.

Third, if you are using the macOS system print dialog, you must go to the Color Matching tab, select ColorSync and then select the ICC profile you want to use. If you don't do this, the dialog will default to the printer's color management.

I have just tested this again to make sure, and it works. Full disclosure, I tested Photoshop, CaptureOne, MS Word and Swift Publisher. All worked properly with ICC profile selection.

When selected via photoshop or other software the ICC profile takes no effect on the print, and the printer seems to receive raw unconverted RGB data.

Then something may be wrong with your install of Photoshop. Use the Adobe supplied uninstaller in the Utilities folder, then reinstall Photoshop from Adobe's server via the Creative Cloud app. Test again.

I’ve looked around online and it seems this has been an issue for some folks since Big Sur.

Certainly not impossible, but I've had no issue using profiles in any version of macOS, or with any app.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you--do I need to have the ICC paper profiles installed in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles for Photoshop to actually make use of them?

No, they can be in any of the three normal locations. One of which used to be created for the user, but now needs to be added yourself.

/System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles

/Library/ColorSync/Profiles

~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles

The first, being in the System folder, is completely untouchable. Ignore it. The second is the normal location where all user accounts can see and use all installed profiles. The last you now have to manually create by going to your user account Library folder, then creating the folder ColorSync, and then a Profiles folder within that. It serves no purpose to do the last one unless, for whatever reason, you don't want other user accounts to see those particular profiles.

Just to clarify, are you using these settings (other than the selected profile show here)?

For images, always use Relative Colorimetric for the intent. The rest are garbage. Always have Black Point Compensation on.

Per MartinR's notes, printer profiles are really paper profiles. Such as, if you have an Epson printer and choose an Epson matte paper profile, that profile is only useful for the printer model it was created for, and they truly mean Epson matte paper.

If you don't have the same model printer the profile was made for, you won't get usable results. If you use HP matte paper, you won't get usable results. It doesn't matter that the Epson and HP papers look and feel the same, they will not react to the inks the same way, and the color will look entirely different on the two types of paper, despite using the exact same output settings.

lje006 wrote:

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding you--do I need to have the ICC paper profiles installed in /Library/ColorSync/Profiles for Photoshop to actually make use of them?

Yes.

You cannot put them in /System/Library/ColorSync/Profiles (it is a restricted location)

And in my experience creating ~/Library/ColorSync/Profiles and putting the ICC profiles there is inconsistent if not actually unreliable. macOS does not create that location by default and I suspect there is a reason it doesn't.

What printer are you using? And is it set up with the vendor's driver or are you using Airprint?

I don't know why some vendors do this, but the names of the ICC files aren't always the same names you see in your apps. This can make them difficult to find.

Canon has a separate download of 44 profiles for your printer. With those the file name is exactly the same as the profile's internal name (without the .icc extension). Such as for Canon PRO-100 for Pictorico GEKKO Blue.icc

Easy to find. But the ones installed with the driver don't follow the same format. For Canon PRO-100 series GLA1.icc, you see this in your lists:

Not very helpful finding the profile you want to use when it says Canon PRO-100 series GLA1.icc on the desktop, but appears as Canon PRO-100 <GLA><PPA> 1/2 Photo Paper Plus Glossy&Gold A in your apps.

Not there, to the root Library folder:

/Library/ColorSync/Profiles