Profiles describe the color attributes of a particular device or viewing requirement by defining a mapping between the device source or target color space and a profile connection space (PCS).

This means there is room for variation between different applications and systems that work with ICC profiles.

[2] ICC has also published a preliminary specification for iccMAX (ICC.2) or ICCv5, a next-generation color management architecture with significantly expanded functionality and a choice of colorimetric, spectral or material connection space.

The reference illuminant of the Profile connection space (PCS) is a 16-bit fractional approximation of D50;[4] its white point is XYZ=(0.9642, 1.000, 0.8249).

The following International and de facto standards are known to make reference to ICC profiles.