Custom ICC Profile

with Photoshop

System requirements :

Adobe Photoshop 2025 or later
Color-managed OS (like macOS)
Wide-gamut DCI-P3 monitor (factory-calibrated preferable)

Color space : P3

White point : 6500K (D65)

Gamma : 2.2

"P3 6500K G2.2.icc"

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How to create a custom ICC profile with Photoshop ?

Why to create a custom ICC profile ?

The main goal of this article is to avoid a specific mismatch which can occur between some wide-gamut monitors (which generally cover 95%…100% of DCI-P3 color space) and some color-managed OS (like macOS) to minimize inaccuracies in color reproduction. Because some wide-gamut monitors don’t implement the sRGB transfer function like used for example in macOS « Display P3 » ICC profile, so it creates some inaccuracies and bad color reproduction particularly in low tones (dark shadows).

More explanations about this typical mismatch :

The sRGB transfer function (or the reciprocal function used in ICC profile) is not a standard gamma curve. The normalized (‘0.0’ for perfect black to ‘1.0’ for perfect white) sRGB transfer function is defined by this piecewise function :

A lot of monitors implement only the more standard 2.2 gamma curve (orange graph on plots below), also used in « AdobeRGB » ICC profile for example. As see on first plot below the difference seems negligible between sRGB transfer function (blue graph) and 2.2 gamma curve (orange graph), but a closer look on second plot (zoom in at low intensity values) shows a significant difference which creates mainly artefacts in low tones. Some monitors are able to use an sRGB emulation mode which implement the correct sRGB curve (blue graph below) but this mode reduces the color gamut to the smaller sRGB color space. So the wider P3 gamut can’t be used in this emulation mode. For information, the standard DCI-P3 uses a 2.6 gamma curve (green graph below).

1) Define custom color profile in « Color Settings » : by opening « Color Settings… » in « Edit » menu. Then open custom RGB pop-up by clicking on « Custom RGB… » in « RGB » list (red rectangle).

2) Enter Name and correct color space characteristics/values : Gamma, White Point and Primaries as defined below for P3 color space.

3) Save ICC profile on disk : then the *.icc file can be saved by clicking again in « RGB » list (red rectangle) above.and selecting « Save RGB…». The corresponding file (with values in picture above) can also be directly downloaded on top of this page.