Proofing is a crucial part of the production cycle, especially where the quality of print is involved because the proof must match the final sheet. Recently, customers have started to demand quicker and cheaper solutions. Printers can continue to deliver traditional hard proofs on cheaper digital machines so that customers can physically see how the printed job will look on paper, or they can go the soft proofing route so that customers can view their jobs online.

In recent years, the trend has been towards soft proofing with publishers using technology to save time and deliver files quickly. However, most customers want to see a hard copy proof but a competitive publisher should be able to provide soft and hard proofing. However, soft proofing is attractive to publishers because of the high output of pages that they produce.

BBC magazines is heading towards soft proofing and moved its pre-press in-house and assembled a team of experts and suppliers to insure an efficient soft proofing set-up. Food and beverage giant Nestle has also gone the soft proofing route with the installation of online production management software. Proof approval time has been cut drastically thanks to the ability to track progress of jobs online, view pieces of work, attach comments, and make approvals online.

Tags: proofing

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