By Claudia McCue

Depending on the workflow of your print service provider and the nature of the job you are submitting, you may be asked to check proofs at several points during the life of the job.

You’ve probably been looking at the same content for so long that it all starts to look alike, and it’s easy to develop blind spots when you’re in a hurry to approve a proof. Here are some checklists to help you remember key issues at each stage.

Checking Image Proofs
Image proofs are sometimes referred to as random proofs or scatter proofs, since they are proofs of just the images without any page-layout context. If you’re unsure of how your own scans or digital photos will reproduce, or if the print service provider has performed the scans, you may want to proof images before going ahead with the remaining print production steps.

Check these issues:

• Size. Are images the correct size? If some images are used multiple times at different sizes within the project, are there separate images for wide variations in scale factor?
• Crop. Is there sufficient image to fill the intended area when you place it in the page layout? Make sure nothing’s been cropped out incorrectly. Also, if you need only a small portion of a large image, it’s OK to crop out unused image area to save storage space and processing time.
• Orientation. Does the image need to be flipped vertically or horizontally for use in the final layout?
• Angle. Is the image at the same angle at which it will be used in the final piece?
• Matching the original artwork. Is the proof a fair rendering of the transparency, reflective art, or digital photo? Matching the art is sometimes a subjective evaluation but, given the limitations of CMYK pigments, is it a reasonable match to the original?
• Color. Is it too dark? Too light? Does it lack contrast? Are neutral areas such as whites, grays, and blacks free of any tinge of unwanted color? For example, check gray areas such as concrete or paved road and make sure there’s no reddish, bluish, or greenish tinge (called a color cast).
• Detail. Is there discernible detail in the highlight and shadow areas? If the original image or original artwork lacks detail, it can’t be manufactured, but any existing detail should be maintained.
• Moiré. Especially when photographing or scanning patterned originals such as woven fabric or geometric patterns, it may be necessary to give special treatment to all or part of an image. Sometimes slight blurring may be used in Photoshop to subdue the moiré. You may have to decide which is more objectionable — the unwanted pattern or the loss of detail due to blurring.
• Silhouettes. This is a good opportunity to check the edges of any silhouettes, whether you’ve created them or asked the print service provider to create them. An edge that looks acceptable onscreen may need some cleanup once you see a proof of it.
• Retouching. If you’ve requested retouching, does the proof show that it’s been done? Does it need additional work to accomplish what you wish? Are there problems that weren’t apparent before, that now should be retouched?

Excerpted from Real World Print Production by Claudia McCue. Copyright © 2007. Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Peachpit Press.

More details on the book can be found at www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321482948.