Where to apply an ICC profile?
Application, operating system or RIP level? If you have a RIP, the best way to apply the profile is to use it on the RIP level. In general, RIP color control setting will override all the system’s and application’s. It controls all the color output from the printer. However, you are advised to turn off all the color management in both system and application level. In the event you do not have a RIP, applying profile on the system level would be the second best option. However, do bear in mind that there could be system color setting differences in a print environment. Why? Given the scenario, Person A calibrated Printer X and Profile P is the calibration output. Person A shares Printer X with his colleagues. Person B is one of them. Say now A and B both want to print a job Y on Printer X. Person A set Profile P as the system working CMYK profile while Person B not. Thus the two printouts are different! In addition, sometimes profile setting has little effect on system’s color managemen
