ColorBase

What ColorBase does

ColorBase (formerly Color Concepts, rebranded February 2023) is a Netherlands-based cloud SaaS platform that serves as the digital foundation and curated marketplace for the large-format printing industry. The company maintains what it describes as the world's largest ICC printer profile library — approximately 1.3 million profiles spanning 430+ printers, 3,700+ materials, and 90+ RIPs — built on 20 years of in-house material testing and color management expertise accumulated through its Print Labs facilities in Rotterdam and Salt Lake City. The platform is hosted on Google Cloud using Firestore, App Engine, BigQuery, and Looker, and comprises several interconnected products: ColorBase Profile Search (free public ICC profile search and download), ColorBase Labs (cloud-based test design, data capture, and analytics SaaS), ColorBase Exchange (B2B material procurement and data exchange), ColorBase Toolbox (user profile history dashboard), and a network of branded Print Hubs for OEM and material manufacturer partners.

ColorBase serves three primary customer segments: print service providers (PSPs) who download profiles to reduce color management trial-and-error; material manufacturers (Fedrigoni, Drytac, Avery Dennison) who co-fund profiles and use Print Hubs to support product launches; and printer manufacturers (Roland DG, Brother, Fujifilm, Ricoh, Mimaki) who use ColorBase to accelerate new printer rollouts. Revenue is generated through three streams: freemium profile distribution (free to end users, funded by manufacturer partnerships), recurring SaaS subscriptions (primarily ColorBase Labs on an annual quote-based model), and professional services (testing, profiling, and certification through Print Labs). The company operates a hybrid go-to-market combining product-led growth (free profile downloads drive adoption), channel partnerships (branded PDCs embedded in OEM sites such as the Roland Profile Center), and enterprise field sales (collaborative launch programs with OEMs like Brother and Fujifilm). Leadership includes CEO Marco Roos and COO/GM Brend Kouwenhoven, with Technical Lead Tony Liang overseeing the data platform since 2018.

Name

ColorBase

Legal name

Color Base B.V.

Website

https://colorbase.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ColorBase is a Netherlands-based cloud SaaS platform providing the world's largest ICC printer profile library (1.3M+ profiles) plus color management and testing tools for large-format printers, material manufacturers, and printer OEMs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Print Color Management Software

NAICS

Support Activities for Printing (323120)

SIC

Service Industries For The Printing Trade (2790)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepress & Composition Services (Typesetting, Layout, Color Management, Proofing) (MPAJALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Color Grading & Color Management (MPAHAAAB)

Keywords

• ICC color profiles
• Print color management
• Large format printing
• Printer profile database
• Print testing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Capelle Aan Den Ijssel

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Profile Distribution Services: Free profile downloads for print operators, with revenue generated through partnerships with manufacturers who fund profile creation and distribution as part of their product launch and support programs.
2. SaaS Subscriptions: ColorBase Labs and other cloud-based software tools are offered as subscription services, providing productivity tools for testing, data analysis, and collaboration to organizations.
3. Testing, Profiling and Certification Services: Formerly Color Concepts, the company continues to offer color management consulting, material testing, printer profiling, and certification services through its Print Labs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ColorBase operates a cloud-based SaaS platform that serves as the digital foundation for the large-format printing industry. Its core offering centers on the world's largest publicly available ICC printer profile database (over 1.3 million profiles covering 430+ printers, 3,700+ materials, and 96+ RIPs), delivered through user-facing tools including ColorBase Profile Search (free), ColorBase Labs (testing data and analytics), ColorBase Exchange (procurement), and Print Hubs for partner manufacturers. The platform also offers material testing, printer profiling, and certification services through Print Labs facilities in Rotterdam and Salt Lake City.

Product overview

ColorBase is a cloud-based SaaS platform and ecosystem of interconnected software tools for the printing industry, rebranded from Color Concepts in February 2023. Its core offering centers on the ColorBase proprietary database — the world's largest ICC profile library with over 1.3 million profiles for 430+ printers, 3,700+ materials, and 96 RIPs — which powers multiple user-facing products: ColorBase Profile Search (free public ICC profile search and download), ColorBase Labs (cloud-based testing data collection and analytics), ColorBase Exchange (B2B material procurement platform), and ColorBase Toolbox (registered-user profile history). The ecosystem also includes branded Print Hubs for partner manufacturers (Ricoh, Fedrigoni, Drytac, Avery Dennison EU), creating a 'plug-and-print' experience that connects material manufacturers, print shops, brand owners, and resellers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ColorBase Labs: Cloud-based data-structuring and collaboration tool for collecting and analyzing testing data, enabling organizations to digitize testing procedures
• ColorBase Exchange
• ColorBase Toolbox
• ColorBase Profile Search
• Print Labs

Products and services

• ColorBase Profile Search

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduce $90 billion annual printing waste (10% of $900B industry)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FedrigonicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFedrigoni, a major print materials manufacturer, partnered with ColorBase (formerly Color Concepts) for profiling, certification, and material testing services. The collaboration creates a 'plug-and-print' experience for users of Fedrigoni print materials, increasing efficiency and value. Fedrigoni Self-Adhesives uses ColorBase to support their entry into the graphic arts space following their 2020 acquisition of Ritrama.
• Google CloudcoreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Cloud provides cloud infrastructure hosting for ColorBase platform. The partnership leverages Google Firestore, App Engine, Big Query, and Looker for platform development and scaling.
• Vanenburg SoftwarecoreTechnology or IntegrationSoftware development partner that helped execute ColorBase's digital transformation. Using Vanenburg's Rappit application development accelerator on Google Cloud for rapid development and deployment of new SaaS features.
• BrothercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrother and ColorBase collaborated on the WF1-L640 Launching Profiles Program, creating 2 profiles for 48 different premium print materials from prominent manufacturers, enabling purchasers of Brother's newest wide format printer to hit the ground running.
• FujifilmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFujifilm and ColorBase collaborated on the Acuity Prime Hybrid Launching Materials Program, creating four profiles per material for High Quality mode, enabling smooth printer launches.
• MimakiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerColorBase announced participation in Mimaki's Digital Textile Microfactory event on October 30, 2024, at the Mimaki facility in Los Angeles, focusing on digital textile printing advancements.
• DrytaccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDrytac sponsors ColorBase's Print Hub and has a branded partner page powered by ColorBase for distributing Drytac material profiles. Drytac also sponsors the Sustainability Spotlight zone at FESPA.
• RicohcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRicoh Print Hub partner, with dedicated page on ColorBase for Ricoh printer profiles and materials information.
• Avery Dennison EUcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAvery Dennison EU Print Hub partner on ColorBase, offering profiles and materials information for European market.
• Roland DGcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoland Profile Center powered by ColorBase, offering profiles for Roland DG printers. Roland leads profile downloads at 30% of total, reflecting their large install base and reliability.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Datacolor: Datacolor provides color measurement hardware and color management software used in printing, textiles, and imaging. Comparable on the color management software side, though Datacolor is broader across industries and has stronger hardware positioning.
• ONYX Graphics: ONYX Graphics provides RIP and color management software for wide-format printing, competing in the same profile-driven color accuracy space as ColorBase. Comparable on product category (color-managed print workflows) and customer base (PSPs and OEMs).
• X-Rite (Pantone): X-Rite, owned by Danaher, is the global leader in color measurement and management, including ICC profile creation, spectrophotometers, and color management software for printing. Directly comparable as the dominant incumbent in the same color management category ColorBase serves, but at a vastly larger scale and with hardware in the mix.
• Ergosoft: Ergosoft develops RIP software specialized in digital textile printing, including color management and ICC profiling. Comparable as a niche RIP/color management vendor serving the same OEM and PSP ecosystem in large-format/digital printing.
• Caldera (Ricoh): Caldera is a leading RIP and color management software vendor for wide-format and digital printing, now part of Ricoh. Directly comparable as a software platform serving the same large-format print workflow and OEM customers that ColorBase addresses.
• ColorGATE: ColorGATE provides RIP software and color management solutions for the large-format printing industry, including ICC profiling and ink/media workflows. Comparable as a direct competitor offering color management tooling alongside major printer OEMs (including the Fujifilm partnership referenced in ColorBase's data).
• CGS Publishing Technologies: CGS Oris provides color management, proofing, and ICC profiling software for the commercial and packaging print industries. Comparable as a direct competitor in ICC profile generation and color management workflows for digital printing.

Broad incumbents

• EFI (Electronics For Imaging): EFI is a major incumbent offering end-to-end digital print workflow software, including color management, RIP, MIS, and production tools across commercial, packaging, and textile printing. Comparable as a broad incumbent operating in the same digital print workflow space ColorBase targets.
• Mimaki: Mimaki is a major manufacturer of wide-format inkjet printers and cutting plotters, and an existing ColorBase partner (Mimaki Digital Textile Microfactory event). Comparable as a printer OEM that both funds color profile work and competes indirectly as part of the broader printing ecosystem ColorBase serves.
• Agfa Graphics: Agfa provides prepress, inkjet, and digital printing solutions including color management software for commercial print and industrial applications. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the printing trade that overlaps with ColorBase's color management and prepress support.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/colorbasefb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/color-concepts-b-v-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ColorBase