The designer’s prep, print,
and proof checklist

Printing has three very distinct stages: preparation, execution, and follow-up. The first stage, commonly referred to as the “prepress” process, is the series of steps taken to prepare your project for printing. In prepress, the printer takes the files you created along with the fonts and images you linked to them, and translates them into a form their computer hardware and software understands.

The prepress process for a printing press, among other things, determines how each page is positioned on the sheet (imposition) to achieve the most economical use of space. It ensures the pages are perfectly aligned front to back. That screen values are applied to photographs and artwork. That a slight overlap, or “trap,” is applied between colors that touch. And the colors are separated for making individual printing plates.

Preflight your files

In either case, your first responsibility of the prepress process is to “preflight” your files. Preflighting is the process of gathering together and reviewing all the elements necessary to translate what you create on your computer to the printer’s computer. Most printers can provide you with a preflight checklist.

Some desktop publishing programs have a preflight feature that aids in the process. At minimum, the printer will require the names and descriptions of the document files and any other image files linked to them, the name and version number of the software program used to produce them, and copies of the fonts used (check your font license agreement for restrictions about sharing fonts).

Determine who is responsible for what

Before you hand over your files, be sure you and the printer agree about who is responsible for what. One printer might prefer to work with your actual desktop publishing program file, to open it in the program you used to produce it, and prepare it themselves. Another might assume you have prepared a file complete with such settings as screen frequency, screen angles, negative orientation, and others.

Review and sign off on a proof

Once your files are prepared for a printing press, you will be asked to review and sign off on a proof of your job before it is printed. A proof is a printout that should, as closely as possible, demonstrate the final printed piece.

There are many different types of proofs. Some printers still provide a blueline (named for its monochrome blue color) made by exposing a film negative on a sheet of light-sensitive paper. It shows a highly accurate representation of what to expect from the printing process minus actual color. If you specify more than one or two colors, a color proof is sometimes required to approximate the colors you should expect.

Today, in an ever-changing print marketplace, new and more accurate ways of proofing are available. Your printing representative can explain the differences, and show you examples of the systems they use.

Your responsibility, in any case, is the same: to check and recheck the proof thoroughly. Once you sign off on it, responsibility for everything shown on the proof is yours, even if it is the printer’s mistake. This is an important distinction to understand. If something as simple as an errant line break eliminated an important phone number, and that mistake undermined your entire project, your approval may still be legally binding—leaving you and your organization to bear the entire cost of reprinting.

Use a red pen or pencil to circle errors and make notes. Are pages printed at the right size? Are the photographs, artwork, and text in the right places? Are the images and text clear and focused? Are the correct typefaces used? Did special characters such as fractions and copyright marks translate correctly? Circle scratches, dust, and broken characters that might be caused by impurities in the film used to make the proof and that, in turn, will be used to make the printing plates. If there are significant changes, request a second proof so you are sure all the changes were made.

If printing will be done on a production copier, prepress primarily concerns translating the files to the printer’s copier and reviewing sample copies before a complete run is produced.

Check your job in progress

Good printing is the absence of mistakes. The proofs you sign off on gave you a good idea of what your finished job should look like. Now your responsibility shifts to seeing that the results are a fair representation of what you approved. There are two stages at which to intercept problems—during the printing process, and after it is complete.

Many printers are receptive to, and in fact encourage, clients to check their jobs in progress at the beginning of the press run. This is especially true if there is some part of the process that requires an aesthetic judgment—if, for example, you are using process colors (CMYK), the press operator can often fine-tune the result by increasing or decreasing the intensity of individual colors. But remember, press time is expensive. If you choose to approve your job on press, be prepared to give clear directions and to make quick decisions. Check with your printing representative to see what their policy is and requirements are for press checks.

Whether you are looking at a job in progress or postpress, the figures show a few of the most obvious problems to look for. Though a small portion of just about every job will be spoiled by one or more of them, attentive press workers should spot and discard problem sheets. And, though quality varies from printer to printer, most would agree that problems this extreme are not considered deliverable.

Check your job in progress and, afterward, question anything that is distinctly different from the proof you approved. Watch for these potential printing problems:

Coverage Check the ink coverage—too little (A), normal (B), or too much (C).

Mottle Check solid areas for mottle—uneven, spotty areas of ink.

Registration and trapping> All colors and shapes should be aligned, or registered, with great precision. Poor registration can result in a gap between ink colors (D).

Pinholes and hickies A pinhole (E) is the result of a hole in the printing plate negative. Erratically shaped hickies (F) are caused by dirt or paper particles that adhere to the plate or rollers.

Skew A crooked or skewed image (G) could be the result of a misaligned plate.

Trimming Some of the most common problems occur after the job is printed. A page trimmed even slightly out of alignment can be drastically altered (H).

Ghosting> A doubled or blurred image, termed “ghosting,” is typically caused by a misapplication of ink on the rollers.

Recheck your job after it is delivered

Repeat the process by rechecking your job when it is delivered. Look at a representative sample of pieces from the beginning, middle, and end of the run. If the middle third of the job is spoiled, you don’t want to discover it through a phone call from a subscriber.

Do a rough count

Next, do a rough count to determine if you got the quantity of pieces you paid for. Count a stack of 100 pieces, measure the height of the stack, and roughly calculate if you are within ten percent of the quantity you ordered. Most printers consider ten percent over or under the amount you requested as acceptable. Therefore, if you need exactly 1000 copies, be sure to tell the printer beforehand that anything less is unacceptable. Some printers expect you to pay extra for overruns unless you agree otherwise in advance.

Oversee and approve postpress finishing

Your final responsibility is to oversee and approve postpress finishing—how sheets are folded, bound, trimmed, drilled, and packaged. At a small press, these steps may be accomplished by a team of people using a series of individual devices. At the largest printer, the same steps may be completed on a single, computerized assembly line.

A traditional 8.5 by 11 inch, eight-page newsletter is printed front and back on two sheets slightly larger than 11 by 17 inches, which are then paired together, folded in half, and saddle-stitched—stapled on the fold. It is obvious if the pages were incorrectly paired: The pages will be out of order. If the margins are not uniform, the pages may not have been registered accurately front to back or trimmed accurately.

Negotiate a price adjustment for printing errors

If the printer makes errors, it is reasonable to negotiate an adjustment in the price. If there are minor problems with your job, something even a meticulous reader would normally miss, you can request a reprint, but it may be more practical to ask for an adjustment of the price; most printers are amenable. If there are significant, obvious problems with your job, insist on a reprint. Though some readers might not notice a problem, it may cause others to judge your organization negatively.

Stay abreast of developing

A final word about printing: there is no final word. The printing business, for some time, has been in and remains in fast forward. There are all types of developing technologies that solve the inherent problems of conventional prepress, printing, and postpress processes. Direct-to-press systems, for example, circumvent much of the time, practice, and cost necessary to prepare and produce printing plates. Stay abreast of developing printing technologies. Printing representatives can introduce you to new, less costly ways of doing things; you have only to judge whether they meet or exceed the standards of cost, accuracy, and quality set by conventional methods.

For a comprehensive look at the printing process, get a copy of the Pocket Pal Graphic Arts Production Handbook by International Paper from Signet Inc., 800-654-3889, 901-387-5560, www.pocketpalstore.com.