Short answer
Use the profile for the printing condition your job will actually be printed to — ideally named by the printer — because each standard profile encodes one set of press, paper, ink and tone-gain assumptions. In Europe the common references are PSO Coated v3 (FOGRA51) and PSO Uncoated v3 (FOGRA52), with ISO Coated v2 (FOGRA39) still widespread; they are built from openly published characterisation data registered with the ICC.
A standard printing condition starts as a data set: a research body such as Fogra prints a large test chart under the conditions of a standard (for offset, ISO 12647-2), measures it, averages and smooths the results, and publishes the CIELAB value for every patch. The ICC keeps a public registry of these data sets with the standard, paper class and measurement condition for each. Profile makers — the European Color Initiative for the PSO and ISO profiles — then build ICC profiles from them, choosing black generation and ink limits. The data set is the reference; the profile is one interpretation of it.
FOGRA39 (2006) describes coated offset under the 2004 edition of ISO 12647-2 and underlies ISO Coated v2, still the default in many applications. The 2013 revision of the standard redefined paper classes and ink aims and was characterised as FOGRA51 (premium coated, PSO Coated v3) and FOGRA52 (wood-free uncoated, PSO Uncoated v3), both measured under the M1 condition that accounts for optical brighteners. There are sibling sets for improved newsprint, supercalendered and lightweight coated papers, and WAN-IFRA registers newspaper conditions. North America uses the CGATS/Idealliance reference conditions (such as the CRPC sets and GRACoL), and Japan its Japan Color sets; all sit in the same ICC registry.
The solids in the table look close for FOGRA39 and FOGRA51 because the inks are the same kind; the bigger change is paper white, which moved from b* −2 to b* −6 once brighteners were measured with M1, and the tone-value-increase curves. Between coated and uncoated the change is large: uncoated black is about 17 L* units lighter and every overprint loses chroma. Newsprint is further away again. Using a coated profile for an uncoated job produces files that print darker, muddier and over-inked, because the separations ask for more ink than the paper can show.
Ask the printer which condition they print to and whether they certify to it (for example through the Fogra PSO scheme). If they cannot say, choose by paper: premium coated → FOGRA51 profile; uncoated white → FOGRA52 profile; newsprint → the newspaper's own profile. Check the profile's description or its tags for the data set it was built from. Use the same profile for soft proofing and for conversion, and put the output intent into the PDF/X file so the printer's RIP and proofer know what you assumed.
| Data set | Standard | Measurement | Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FOGRA51 | ISO 12647-2:2013 | M1 | 56.12 / -34.9 / -52.52 | 48.06 / 75.29 / -5.18 | 88.94 / -4.04 / 92.37 | 16 / 0.07 / -0.33 |
| FOGRA52 | ISO 12647-2:2013 | M1 | 58.7 / -22.35 / -48.12 | 54.54 / 60.07 / -4.3 | 87.66 / -2.65 / 72.38 | 32.69 / 1.24 / 0.11 |
| FOGRA39 | ISO 12647-2:2004/Amd 1:2007 | Pre-M1 | 55 / -37 / -50 | 48 / 74 / -3 | 89 / -5 / 93 | 16 / 0 / 0 |
| IFRA26 | ISO 12647-3 (2004 draft, published 2005) | Pre-M1 | 59.11 / -23.94 / -27.1 | 55.5 / 47.62 / 0.68 | 80.37 / -1.38 / 61.56 | 36.76 / 1.48 / 4.46 |
Why: Files were separated with a coated profile.
Fix: Reconvert to the uncoated profile (FOGRA52-based) from the RGB originals.
Why: The job was proofed to FOGRA39 but printed on brightened paper to the FOGRA51 condition.
Fix: Proof, convert and print to the same data set, and proof on a substrate in the same fluorescence class.
Each statement is labelled by kind — established fact, a standard’s requirement, observed market data, a convention, or Colourwise’s own interpretation or analysis — with the strength of the evidence behind it.
FactStrong evidence
FOGRA51 and FOGRA52, created in May 2015, characterise offset printing to ISO 12647-2:2013 on premium coated and wood-free uncoated paper respectively, measured to ISO 13655 M1 with white backing.
Source: FOGRA51 characterization data (premium coated offset, ISO 12647-2:2013); FOGRA52 characterization data (wood-free uncoated offset, ISO 12647-2:2013)
FactModerate evidence
The ECI's PSO Coated v3 profile is built from FOGRA51, PSO Uncoated v3 from FOGRA52, and ISO Coated v2 from FOGRA39.
FactStrong evidence
The ICC registry lists characterisation data registered by Fogra, CGATS, WAN-IFRA, APTEC and the Japanese national committee, and recommends treating the CIELAB values as the primary reference where both CIELAB and XYZ are given.
FactStrong evidence
FOGRA39 was defined against ISO 12647-2:2004 with Amendment 1 and predates the M1 measurement condition; its paper white is recorded as L* 95, a* 0, b* −2.
Source: FOGRA39 characterization data (coated offset, ISO 12647-2:2004/Amd 1)
Reviewed 29 September 2026. Colourwise summarises its sources in its own words and does not reproduce standards text or proprietary colour data. Spotted an error? Tell us.