Reviewing Color Proofs
Great Piece Color can have a tremendous impact on your print design, but to achieve great color, you have to know it will print the way you visualize it. The printer's contract proof provides a preview of the finished piece to confirm that it will match your visual intent and expectations. With the complexity of today's creative applications, it becomes imperative to have an accurate, hard-copy proof to bridge the gap between the digital and the physical.
Review Proofs In Neutral Light
Natural light is preferable to fluorescent light in most instances. If your piece will primarily be viewed in a specific lighting environment, you might want to confirm that it looks acceptable under these conditions as well.
What To Watch For
Here are the most important factors to consider when reviewing a proof:
- Is it in registration, i.e. are all of the register marks on the edge of the proof aligned?
- Do the various color elements, be they text, line art, or images, register correctly in relation to each other?
- Are all color items represented in the correct color? Are all of the tints used the correct shade?
- Do flesh tones look real? Do any other items that contain familiar "memory" colors look real?
- Does the main subject of each image pop the way you want it to? Put another way, is there enough contrast?
- Are all the bleeds pulled past the trim edge?
- Is the proof 100% of the size you specified enabling you to correctly judge color, placement, size, etc.?
- Is all the type legible? Are any characters or words broken, missing, the wrong color, etc.?
- Is your text free of misspelled words? Are there any grammatical errors?
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