Free Printer ICC Profile Generator | Online IT8 Color Calibration

Step 1Print the target before you scan

Download the materials zip, unzip it, then run RawTiffPrinter.exe and print the TC9.18 target at 1:1 onto photo paper. Paste an IT8 target into the blank half of the same sheet and leave a clearly visible white gap.

1Download the materials package

Printer_Profile_Materials.zip 385 KB · SHA-256 c4654fa816bd4153… — it contains the print target and the printing utility:

printer_target_TC9.18_RGB.tif — the print target
RawTiffPrinter.exe — the printing utility

2Print the target 1:1

Unzip the package, run RawTiffPrinter.exe and print printer_target_TC9.18_RGB.tif at 1:1. The utility sends the TIFF to the printer at a fixed scale and position, so nothing is resampled or fitted to the sheet.

3Print and lay out

A4 layout: centred, Y offset -70 mm, target on the upper half — **A4 photo paper** Print the target on the upper half of the sheet, then paste a ColorRuler IT8 target into the blank lower half. 210×297 · portrait · Y −70 mm · 100 %

A5 layout: landscape, centred, scale 100%, full page — **Photo paper A5 or smaller** Print with the full-page layout so the target fills the small sheet, then mount that printout on the upper half of a plain A4 sheet and paste the IT8 target into the blank lower half. 148×210 · landscape · 100 %

Keep a clearly visible white gap between the printed target and the IT8 target. The two are separated automatically from that gap, so they must not touch or run into the sheet edge.

4Lock the print settings

Set the paper type and the print quality, and switch COLOR MANAGEMENT OFF (no color adjustment). Keep exactly these settings for every print you make with this profile — if any of them changes, the profile no longer describes what the printer actually does.

One profile covers exactly one printer, one ink set, one paper type and one group of print settings. Print the target on the same photo paper you will print your work on — a profile built on glossy paper does not transfer to matte — and keep the print settings unchanged afterwards. Change any of the four, and the profile no longer applies.

Step 2Scan the TC9.18 and the IT8 target one pass

Let the printed target rest for at least an hour. Put the target on the top half of the platen and a ColorRuler IT8 target on the bottom half, with a clear white gap, and scan both in one pass — 8-bit, 400 dpi or more, lossless PNG.

Let the printed target rest for at least 1 hour so the ink dries completely and the color stabilises.
Use a scanner whose light source is not aged and has not lost brightness.
A printer ICC profile does not require a scanner ICC profile to be made beforehand.
Keep both faces of the scanner glass clean and free of dust.
Warm the scanner up fully. On an LED scanner you can do this by running preview after preview until the lamp is warm.
The most important rule: switch off the scanner's color management and every other color correction option!
8-bit, 400 dpi or more, lossless PNG is recommended.

Then start scanning.

Step 3Upload the scan

Drop a scan here, or click to choose a file

TIFF, PNG or JPG · up to 80 MB · 400 dpi or more recommended

Just exploring? Download a sample scan (21 MB PNG) — then upload it here and set Reference file to CR2026.01.13.

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Sample scan: TC9.18 printer target on top, IT8 target below — Target above, IT8 below

Profile settings

Printer brand

Model

Ink type or brand

Media type or brand

Custom date, client, note

Profile name — joined with underscores, in the order above

IT8 reference file

Select the batch printed on your IT8 target.

Advanced

Curve smoothing

Neutral grey

Select a scan to begin.

Job history

Artifacts are kept for 24 hours and then removed automatically — please download within that window.

No jobs yet

Step 4Install the printer ICC profile and print Photoshop

Install the .icm with a right-click, then print from Photoshop with Photoshop Manages Colors: pick the new profile, use Relative Colorimetric with black point compensation, and keep the driver settings (paper type, print quality, color management off) identical to the target print.

The walkthrough below uses Photoshop on Windows. Other applications expose the same settings under different names.

Install the profile. Right-click the .icm and choose Install profile — or copy it into C:\Windows\System32\spool\drivers\color.
Open Photoshop and load the picture you want to print.
Choose the target printer.
Print settings: keep them exactly as they were when you printed the target — in particular paper type, print quality and color management switched off (no color adjustment). These three must match the target print.
Set Color Handling to Photoshop Manages Colors.
Pick the profile you just generated and installed as the Printer Profile.
Set Rendering Intent to Relative Colorimetric and tick Black Point Compensation.

Photoshop Print Settings dialog with the color management fields — **Photoshop Print Settings** — the six numbered fields are exactly the ones set above. 1 printer · 2 print settings · 3 Photoshop manages colors · 4 installed profile · 5 relative colorimetric · 6 black point compensation

The print now reproduces the true color of the picture.

See the difference a printer ICC profile makes

Both prints come from the same printer, the same paper and the same file — the only difference is the printer ICC profile. Drag the divider to compare:

Before: the print made without color management shows shifted colors

Before — printed without an ICC profile After — printed with a printer ICC profile

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a printer ICC profile without a spectrophotometer?

Yes. The IT8 target scanned next to the printed target supplies the reference values, so the scan itself acts as the measuring device. No spectrophotometer or colorimeter is needed — only a flatbed scanner whose lamp has not lost brightness.

Why must printer color management be switched off when printing the target?

The profile has to describe what the printer does with an untouched file. If the driver adjusts colors, the scan measures that adjustment instead of the printer, and the profile stops describing the device. Use the same settings afterwards when you print your work.

Which paper should I print the target on?

The same photo paper you will print your work on, with the same print settings. A profile built on glossy paper does not transfer to matte paper.

Do I need a separate profile for another paper or ink set?

Yes. One profile covers exactly one printer, one ink set, one paper type and one group of print settings. Change any of the four and the profile no longer applies.

What scan resolution and format do you recommend?

8-bit, 400 dpi or more, saved as a lossless PNG or TIFF, with the scanner's own color management switched off. Scan the printed target and the IT8 target in one pass, with a clearly visible white gap between them.