ICC Profiles & CxF Format

ICC Profiles in ChromaChecker

ICC profiles serve as the primary color targets in Print Inspector. Using actual ICC profiles rather than CGATS text files ensures that your press targets exactly match what your prepress, design, and RIP software is working to — eliminating the gap between intended and evaluated color.

ChromaChecker reads extended metadata from ICC profiles including G7 compatibility flags, measurement conditions, substrate coordinates, and TVI curves. See ICC Profile Inspector for full details.

CxF/X-4 — Spot Color Characterisation

CxF (Color eXchange Format) is an ISO 17972 standard for exchanging spectral color data in XML format. CxF/X-4 (ISO 17972-4) is the specific part for spot color characterisation data — the format ChromaChecker uses for exporting and importing brand and spot color libraries.

Unlike simple L*a*b* values, CxF/X-4 stores full spectral reflectance data, tint measurements, and substrate information — enabling far more accurate color reproduction across different printing conditions.

CxF/X-4 Conformance Levels

CxF/X-4 defines three conformance levels based on how much characterisation data is included:

Measurement Data	CxF/X-4	CxF/X-4a	CxF/X-4b
Solid ink on substrate	 Required	 Required	 Required
Tints on substrate (11 recommended)	 Min 3	 Min 3	 Not required
Tints on black backing	 Min 3	 Not required	 Not required

The Five C’s of Spot Color Control

• Capture — measure the spot color with a calibrated spectrophotometer
• Calibrate — ensure output devices are calibrated to their target condition
• Characterise — document spot color behavior with full spectral + tint data in CxF/X-4
• Convert — RIPs and workflows that recognise CxF/X-4 tags can use this data for accurate conversion
• Conform — measure and compare the printed result against the CxF/X-4 reference to confirm conformance