What is a print proof?

A representation of the job for the customer to check before printing, which may be digital or physical depending on the job.

Who is responsible for errors found after printing?

Usually whoever approved the proof, which is why the approval step should be explicit and recorded.

Do digital proofs show accurate colour?

Screens vary and cannot reliably represent printed colour, which is why a physical proof is offered where colour is critical.

Proofing and Approval Questions Before a Print Run

A customer approves a proof at half past four with the word yes. The job prints overnight. On Wednesday she notices the phone number is the old one, which was wrong on the file she supplied.

Five thousand leaflets. Somebody is paying for them and neither party thinks it should be them.

Step 1: say what a proof is for

It is the customer's opportunity to check content, spelling, numbers, layout and specification. Printers know this and customers frequently believe the printer has checked the words.

Step 2: say plainly what you do not check

Spelling, grammar, telephone numbers, addresses, prices and dates. Stating it explicitly is not defensive, it is the only way the customer knows to look.

Step 3: give them a checking list

A short list of what to verify, in order. Customers check the picture and miss the number. A list changes what they look at and prevents most reprints.

Step 4: explain the proof types

Digital for layout and content, physical where colour or stock matters, and what each costs. Customers do not know a physical proof exists until it is too late.

Step 5: be honest about screen colour

A screen cannot represent printed colour reliably, and paper stock changes it further. Say so before approval, not after, which is the same expectation setting as artwork and file questions printers answer daily.

Step 6: make approval explicit

A dated, recorded approval against a named file version. A yes in a message thread at four thirty is not an approval anybody can rely on.

Step 7: version the files

Name and number every version, and confirm which one was approved. Most disputes are actually version confusion rather than disagreement.

Step 8: publish the amendment policy

How many rounds are included, what an extra round costs and what counts as a new job. Customers making eleven changes need to know at round three.

Step 9: publish the point of no return

When a job goes to press, after which changes are not possible, and what happens to a request arriving afterwards. It should be stated in the approval message.

Step 10: explain what happens when something is wrong

Whether it is a reprint, a reprint at cost or a chargeable rerun, depending on where the error originated. Publishing the position beforehand prevents the argument.

Step 11: tie approval to the deadline

Every hour of delay in approval moves the delivery date, and saying so plainly at the point of proofing is what gets a response, which is the ground in rush print jobs and deadline questions.

Step 12: keep the record

Approved file, approval time, who approved it and on what terms. The same discipline any professional service applies, as in fee and process questions before a divorce consultation.

Step 13: chase approvals automatically

A proof sitting unapproved is a deadline quietly slipping, and an automatic reminder saves more jobs than any amount of chasing, which is the mechanism in the best AI chatbot for appointment booking.

Getting started

Publish what a proof covers, what you do not check, the amendment rounds and the point of no return, then chase approvals and answer file questions at any hour. SpideyChat for printing companies answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about automation on the features page.