A guide to proofing

Checking proofs

Before we can print any job, we need to make sure you are 100% happy, therefore we need you to ‘proof’ the artwork. The old saying goes “measure twice, cut once” it’s much easier to make changes at the proofing stage than after we’ve got a printed product.

We’ve suggested the key areas to check in the list below, we’d recommend (if you can) getting a friend to give it a once over too. It’s surprising how effective a fresh set of eyes can be at spotting mistakes.

Key areas to check:

• Spelling, grammar and punctuation
• Contact details (phone numbers, names, email addresses, dates, times)
• Size (from tiny A7, to giant A0 – size really matters when it comes to print!)
• Pictures and Logos (are they sharp enough?)

Spelling, grammar and punctuation

Very often, we will retype or copy and paste information supplied when creating a proof. That’s why you need to check every element of the design to make sure it’s correct. And get a friend or colleague to have a read as well as when you’ve been staring at the same piece of artwork for too long you can start to miss things!

Size

When you’re designing your product, it’s common to zoom in to check all the details. For example, when you view a business card, you might be zoomed in at 200%, meaning the text looks a lot bigger than it would in the final printed product. It’s a really good idea to zoom out and view your design at the final printed size (100%) to check that all the text is legible and easy to read.

Pictures and logos

If you’ve supplied us with your own pictures or logo, it’s worth checking that they’ll print clearly. Always use the highest quality pictures you can and avoid scanning existing printed products, like business cards, and using those scanned images for your design.

Lemonade print ready artwork checklist

• Setup as CMYK
• Correct size
• Fonts are embedded or converted to outlines
• All scans resolution are 300 dpi at 100% of the final image size
• Images are embedded in the file
• Files are supplied with 3mm bleed and crop marks
• White text is not set to overprint
• Any multiple-page PDF consists of single pages running from the front cover through to the back cover, including blank pages if needed
• If folded, check artwork is setup correctly for these folds