The Benefits of Using Proofing Press

Ever since the first days of the Gutenberg press, print proofing was the only safeguard against mistakes. Printing can only ever reproduce the final approved copy. Whatever typos, colors errors, or layout issues exist in the proof will be found on every print. 

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That can be disastrous!

It’s not the end of the world for a handful of leaflets. However, companies often invest thousands (even millions) of dollars in printing brochures, booklets, and other documents. Any errors not only cost them money, but they also impact a company’s reputation. 

Luckily, in the several centuries since Johannes Gutenberg, print-proofing techniques and innovations have proved game-changing. There is even new online proofing software available to revolutionize your proofing process.

What is Print Proofing?

Traditionally, a print proof involved firing up the press to produce several design printouts. These were the ‘test copies.’ Proofreaders and designers would pour over these copies to look for the most minute errors and mistakes. 

In more modern printing, as designs have advanced, proofing also involves assessing layout, colors, images, and text as they will appear in the final product. It serves as a final check to prevent errors and ensure the printed materials meet branding guidelines, client expectations, and the printer’s standards. 

Common Print Proofing Techniques

Not all prints are the same. Depending on the industry, you may request a specific type of print proof before final approval. These include:

• PDF Proofs: Digital files, often PDFs, are shared electronically for a quick and cost-effective review of the layout and text.
• Hard Copy Proofs: Physical printed proofs that closely resemble the final product are used to assess the chosen material’s color and texture.
• Color Calibrated Proofs: Produced using devices calibrated for color accuracy, these are essential for color-critical work to ensure fidelity.
• Blueline Proofs: Economical pre-press proofs are primarily for checking text layout and content placement, not color accuracy.
• Digital 3D Mock-ups: Virtual representations of the printed piece, instrumental in packaging, to visualize shape, design, and overall look.
• Progressive Proofs: Printed sheets showing each individual color and their combined effect are important for multi-color print jobs to assess the build-up of color layers.

Advantages of Print Proofing 

Print proofing isn’t optional; it’s imperative. As a critical step in the quality control (QC) process, proofing acts as a safeguard against errors or embarrassing mistakes. It ensures the final output aligns perfectly with the original design, allowing for color, positioning, and typography adjustments.

Here are some of the key benefits:

Cost-Efficiency

Print proofing is, first and foremost, a cost-saving strategy. As the old saying goes, “measure twice, cut once.” Take your time; it’s much easier to make changes during the proofing stage than to go back and rectify a printed product. 

Correcting mistakes, either on a digital or hard copy proof, prevents the loss of materials and labor involved in a full print run. Moreover, with reduced time spent rectifying errors post-production, projects stay on budget and on schedule. That leaves more time and resources to spend on further growing the business or even printing more copies. 

Client Satisfaction

To a design agency, client satisfaction is paramount – it pays the bills. Ensuring clients get a chance to preview the final product and give it their seal of approval helps build trust and confidence. But it also safeguards against recrimination if a disgruntled client later decides a print isn’t to their satisfaction. 

Instead, you provide a transparent platform for client feedback and involvement, sharing responsibility for the finished print.

Enhanced Professional Reputation

The quality of the print and the number of mistakes are the hallmarks of a professional. Delivering high-quality, error-free print materials showcases a commitment to excellence.

Not everyone can afford to go to reprint.

A magazine, for example, would spend a sizable portion of its profits on a reprint. However, in this industry, there simply isn’t the time. So, editors, writers, and graphic designers would suffer the embarrassment of their errors being available to every reader. Indeed, some newspapers once earned a reputation for their sloppy grammar. 

But the reverse is also true – high-quality prints set a company apart from its competitors, strengthening its position in the market. 

Latest Print Proofing Advancements

Gone are the days when print proofing meant turning on the printing press. New innovations in soft proofing (aka digital proofing) save companies time and money. For example, previously, digital proofing relied on sending a PDF back and forth via . It wasn’t uncommon to scan documents with edits before printing them again. Cumbersome, right?

Labor-saving advancements have reduced the workload of designers and printers and further refined the printing proofing process.

Cloud-based proofing platforms allow the designer to upload a soft proof online. Multiple stakeholders, including team members or clients, can review and mark up proofs in real time from anywhere in the world. No confusion or vague feedback – individuals can pinpoint what they want to change. Plus, with clear version control, everyone works on the latest iteration, minimizing confusion and errors.

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Furthermore, certain niche proofing platforms, e.g., for packaging, let designers emulate how colors will appear in various lighting conditions. By simulating the final print materials, fewer (if any) hard proofs need to be created. 

It’s a level of interactivity unimaginable just a few years ago.

Closing Thoughts

Print proofing is the final line of defense against costly mistakes and reputational embarrassment. New innovations, like cloud-based proofing platforms, are revolutionizing the process. But further improvements integrating digital proofing tools into content or project management systems can facilitate an even smoother workflow.

Even in today’s fast-paced “need-it-now” environment, proofing is still an important part of the print production workflow. Thankfully, proofing print jobs online is now easier and widely accepted. Today, tools to facilitate online proof approvals have been integrated in cloud-based Print MIS software such as Ordant.

While there are some instances in which clients should sign off on color-accurate hard-copy proofs, online proofing is perfectly acceptable for many short-run, lower-cost print projects that will only be used for a limited time.

Online proofing provides five important benefits.

Online proofing saves time.

If the client needs the job delivered in a day or two, you don’t have time to waste printing, sending, and re-printing hard copies of proofs until the job is perfect. A  job can be proofed and approved within hours.

It saves materials.

The best way for a client to see what the finished job will look like is to print a one-off copy using the exact inks and materials that will be used for the entire run. While this is possible on a digital printer, it’s really not practical if you must interrupt longer production jobs on different materials. On large-format projects, every hard-copy proof consumes ink and materials that may not have been factored into the estimate.

Online proofing creates accessible job records.

With a good proof-approval management system, you can retain a searchable, archived record of all the proofs you sent to that client. You have a timeline of when the proofs were sent, viewed, and approved.

It can avoid costly mistakes.

When everyone in your prepress and production staff can easily view the changes a client requested to a job, mistakes are less likely to slip through. In the unlikely event that a prepress employee overlooked a requested change, someone in your production department could catch the error. This isn’t as easy to do when proofs and charge requests are stored in hard-copy files.

Online proofing can help avoid disputes.

When you have an electronic record of when the proofs were sent and approved, you can explain why a job was delivered slightly later than promised. Disclaimers supplied with the proof can warn the customer that failure to approve the proof by the agreed-upon date could delay final delivery of the job.

How to Reap the Benefits?

To maximize all of the business benefits of enabling your clients to proof print jobs online, take steps to educate your clients and expedite the proof approval process.

Use software to automatically send a link to view press-ready PDFs.

Include an that explains when you need the proof to be approved in order to stay on schedule. Ordant software makes this easy to do.

Post clear, simple instructions on your website.

Let clients know what to expect during every stage of the printing process. Advise them that when they receive the with a link to the proof, they should review the proof carefully and return it promptly.

Post guidelines on how to review a proof.

Very few people are trained as print buyers anymore. Many customers may not realize what to look for. Explain that sometimes digital files can become corrupted and cause inaccuracies in how the job will be printed. Are all of the fonts correct? Is everything in proper position? Are key elements of the design missing?

Remind them the content of the piece should be proofed before submitting the job. But acknowledge that sometimes details (e.g. event location) may change. In that case, you can make the correction before the job goes to press.

Explain the limitations of online proofing.

Caution buyers that the colors they see on their screen may look different from the final print. If customers are concerned about accurate color reproduction, outline the steps involved in color-managed soft proofing or offer to provide hard-copy proofs.

Make the process customer-friendly.

To retain clients you worked so hard to attract, make sure that every communication they have with your company doesn’t detract from the overall experience. The proofing process is a customer “touchpoint” that affects how people view your firm’s brand.

Ideally, the timeliness and quality of your proofs will “wow” the client. But if your client is disappointed and wants to make changes, your staff must handle the situation with tact and finesse. Your customers will regard your company unfavorably if your customer-service team reacts to change requests with condescension or irritation.

Over time, the online proofing process can help you determine which clients are easy to work with, which ones make unreasonable demands, and which ones simply need more education.

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