In a computerized imaging system, the color devices can be divided into three broad classifications: input devices, display devices and output devices. Every one of these devices has its own color space. (The input and display devices usually work in RGB color space while the printer devices usually work in CMYK color space.) That means: moving the image data between the different devices usually requires a special transformation - the so named color space conversion.
These transformations do not give the correct results without taking into consideration the special behavior of the used devices. To get the same color on the screen or on the printer that was captured by a frame grabber card with a camera, pair-wise transformation must be executed, that precisely matches the special characteristics of the input and output devices. In addition, there are tasks where the color information must be transported between different platforms (operating systems), or must be stored in image files - preserving the original color. It is a difficult task to realize in general case.
From the beginning, there was a great demand for a general, universally applicable and transparent solution for managing the color information for different imaging devices across different platforms.
The International Color Consortium was formed in 1993 by eight industry vendors in order to create a universal color management system that would function transparently across all operating systems and software packages. The ICC specification allows for matching of color when moved between applications, imaging devices and operating systems from the source of creation to the final print.
The main emphasis of the ICC is the ICC profile, which describes the color attributes of a particular device or viewing requirement by defining mapping between the source or target color space and a profile connection space (PCS).
Many image file formats contain inserted ICC profile data in an embedded format. Such file formats are e.g.: TIFF, JPEG, V4 and V5 Bitmap. If an image file contains profile data - that describes the behavior of image capturing device , the color management of operating system can transform transparently its color data to a standard color space (in case of MS Windows: sRGB), and from this standard space it can display or print the image correctly without significant color distortion or loss of color information.
For a more detailed description of profiles and color management, see the official WEB site: http://www.color.org.