Ability to assign a color profile to a png is essential.
We dont want AI to "secretly" convert to sRGB upon export.
There should be feature parity with photoshop which allows profiles on any export.

To the users who say "use webp" or "open in photoshop/preview, thats not related to OP.
OP not asking "what is a workaround?" or "what is another format?"

WebP is a good way to combine transparency, lossless compression and color management. But if you need for some reason a PNG, you either have to convert the webp to png or open the png and assign a color profile. Both ways need some work after saving the file (which of course could be automated) and thus are not really a replacement for embedding a color profile within Illustrators export dialogue. But Adobe apparently insists on ignoring this...

The best option currently is to export the file in ". webp". This extension allows you to export WITHOUT BACKGROUND and also allows you to EMBED THE COLOR PROFILE.

pleaseeee updateee :(

5 years

It is a possible workaround. On Mac, opening in Preview can assign a profile too. But this should not be necessary if Illustrator just behaved like a good color managed application and read and save a profile in the png. Should not be too difficult after more than 4 years.

A possible solution consists in embedding a color profile in the Illustrator-generated PNG using software that has that capability. Here are the steps for Adobe Photoshop (v22):

1. From Illustrator save the document to PNG format.
2. Open the Illutrator-generated PNG in Photoshop.
3. Assign the desired color profile to the image: Photoshop > Edit > Assign Profile > Profile > [e.g. Adobe RGB].
4. Save the image with the selected profile embedded: File > Save As... > check Embed Color Profile > Save.

Please address this issue! We should be able to have color profile assigned.

Yes, ICC profile embedding should be possible in AI when exporting as PNG.

It looks like version 26.0.3 does a colorconversion from AdobeRGB to sRGB when saving for web, but is doesn't save the profile in the png-file. Saving as PNG and Saving for Screens does not colorconvert, and does not embed a profile. A webbrowser like Safari is capable of reading embedded profiles, but doesn't find one in the PNG that is created in Illustrator. Each situation is bad, so you get the wrong colors in webbrowsers when starting off with something else then sRGB in Illustrator. But nowadays webbrowsers are capable of reading and respecting embedded profiles. And P3 is going to be the new sRGB and has a wider gamut. So why should we stick with the old sRGB while our environment has changed and webbrowsers are smart enough to read embedded profiles? The only solution seems to me that programmers at Adobe should improve the way Illustrator works. That means: any png or jpg that is being exported should have the current document RGBprofile embedded in it. On top of that it should be a users choice to convert to sRGB, and have that embedded as a profile. Just like what Photoshop does. And when you're at it: the same goes for InDesign.
And as Ton says: when placing an image with an embedded profile, Illustrator completely ignores the profiles. This is so unprofessional!
These problems are there for many years already without Adobe doing anything to solve it.

My vote would be to :
1. Always embed the document profile.
2. Offer a checkbox to override and convert to sRGB and Embed the sRGB profile instead.

A professional app should not leave users guessing the color space of an exported document.

Dave

And that needs to change! It should save the profile in the image, if one has used that profile in the AI file

Actually, Illustrator uses the current RGB profile to calculate the exported colors, but does not save the ICC profile with the image.
When opening or placing a PNG file Illustrator ignores the profile even if it is available.

I discovered most people don't notice this happens because they assume it's a function of the screens they test on being different or that they simply don't know this is happening behind the scenes. I was the latter for awhile. It would be great to have the ability to embed ICC profiles for PNGs in Illustrator and Indesign instead of having to jump to photoshop. I understand the apps in the Creative Cloud work in sync but this adds too much of a cumbersome extra step to a process you've already simplified really well with the export for screens feature.

See also:
https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-feature-requests/suggestions/39521494-png-export-embeds-the-wrong-icc-profile

Yeah @Ton that's the case so it seems. I've been waiting for this update for so long. PS has this. Adobe owns both the software yet the bridge in capabilities is not there. The software has grown leaps and bound over the years. Adobe are you listening?? Please pitch in.

It seems that Illustrator uses the RGB Working space profile for export to PNG, but does not embed that profile.

Bumping this to see if it gets some support as this feature is still not available.

Please offer this feature for the next update! We're working with web-designers to whom we have to give png and/or eps files and if there's a specific colour profile added in the Illustrator file, it does not carry forward to exported png/eps file. Photoshop has that feature, export to pdf from illustrator has that feature. But png and eps don't please include this feature.

From Photoshop you can choose to embed a colorsynprofile when saving or exporting to png. I need that in Illustrator as well. Webbrowsers are smart enough to recognise icc-profiles and adjust display appropriately. Illustrator needs to have this option as well, and save the currently assigned rgb-profile when exporting