What is the CSP file format?
.csp is a proprietary data file created by the CorelDRAW Service Bureau Profiler, a legacy tool included with CorelDRAW during the late 1990s and early 2000s. It stores a service bureau output profile containing the print shop’s company name, address, contact information, and output configuration parameters - such as color management settings, trapping values, and supported font formats - required when submitting a CorelDRAW drawing to a commercial printing or output bureau.
The workflow worked as follows: a print shop would use the CorelDRAW Service Bureau Profiler to create a .csp profile file and distribute it to clients. Clients would then load that profile into their own CorelDRAW installation to ensure the document was configured correctly for that bureau’s equipment and requirements, reducing prepress errors.
The .csp format is proprietary to Corel Corporation with no published specification. Its exact internal encoding (binary or structured text) is not publicly documented. The feature is largely a legacy of CorelDRAW 7-9 era workflows.
Modern prepress has replaced this approach almost entirely. Print shops now typically specify output requirements through PDF/X submission standards and embed ICC color profiles directly in the document. CorelDRAW remains actively developed by Corel Corporation, but .csp service bureau profiles are rarely used in contemporary print workflows.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWCSP files contain only profile/contact data, no executable code. Safe to open in CorelDRAW.
Format details
in a nutshell- Clip Studio Paint project (community abbreviation) - Users call Clip Studio Paint 'CSP', but its actual native format uses .clip and .lip extensions - not .csp.
- CopperSpice application settings - CopperSpice, a C++ GUI framework, reportedly uses .csp for settings; niche developer use.
Programs that open CSP files
Windows1 app
CorelDRAW
Paid Use the Service Bureau Profiler tool within CorelDRAW to load the .csp file. Access via File menu or Tools in legacy versions. Technical details
deep spec| Encoding | Proprietary binary or structured text (exact encoding not publicly documented) |
| Container | Proprietary CorelDRAW Service Bureau Profiler format |
| Content | Service bureau profile: company name, address, contact details, color management settings, output parameters |
| Creator application | CorelDRAW Service Bureau Profiler (legacy tool bundled with CorelDRAW 7-9 era) |
| Platform | Windows |
| Typical file size | 1 KB - 50 KB |
| Compression | Unknown / likely none |
| Magic bytes | None documented publicly |
| Workflow era | Late 1990s - early 2000s prepress; largely replaced by PDF/X and ICC profile embedding |
| Related formats | .cdr (CorelDRAW drawing file); .cst (CorelDRAW style template) |
| Current relevance | Legacy; the Service Bureau Profiler workflow is rarely used in modern prepress production |
| Released | ~1995-2000 (CorelDRAW 7-9 era) |
| Latest version | Unknown; feature largely legacy in modern CorelDRAW |
CSP conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about CSP files.
