proof 6. a trial impression made from composed type for the correction of errors. 7. (in engraving, etc.) a print made by an artist or under his supervision for his own satisfaction before he hands the plate over to a professional printer.

Remember when you thought fax machines were really clever? They made the whole process of proofing so much quicker, your courier bill was halved and the time saved allowed you to get on with the work you were supposed to be doing.

These days we take email for granted and don’t know how we managed before Adobe Acrobat invented PDFs (Portable Document Files). But there are a whole range of proofing systems out there and we thought we’d get to the bottom of this mysterious business and give readers of DesignLines a basic guide to some of the processes available to them.

Studio proofs

First poof

For major pieces of work, we first present visuals to you for discussion to agree the direction of the design and copy. Once the design has been decided upon, we give you a proof in hardcopy form which will give you an idea of layout and allow you to see your text and photographs or graphics in place. Alternatively we will save our file as a PDF and email it to you for you to view on your PC using Adobe Acrobat Reader, a type of computer software which is free for you to download from the internet.

Second proof

By now there should only be minor corrections to be made, so consider this your final proof.

Printer’s proofs

However, there are many digital options available and some have brand names which you might recognise such as Cromalin. At this stage there are three main options: PDF, digitals and machine proofs.

PDF

The cheapest and quickest to produce, PDF proofs are usually emailed to both us and the client to check and comment upon. You can print them on your laser printer or look at them on screen. If the PDF is too large to email, the printer may make it available for you to view on their website.

Digitals

This high quality proof is provided on a glossy board. If there are a number of pages, like in a magazine, there will be several sheets of imposed pages. Corrections on these proofs, unless very minor, will be charged for by the printer and could cost hundreds of pounds to change words or pictures.

Machine Proofs (or wet proofs)

As the name suggests, these proofs are produced on a dedicated proofing press using film and plates to give high-quality results. Fine tuning to the colour balance of photos is the main benefit and other changes will be expensive.

If you are not sure about any stage of the process, ask any member of the team and we’ll try and take some of the mystery out of proofing.

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