Pressure

A printer checks the test print of an advertisement (1973)

A proof is a test print to check the quality of the artwork, especially when working with multiple colors on a printing press . The press proof approved by the client is used by the printer on the production press as a template to achieve a print result that is as similar as possible.

Proofs are usually made on specially developed pressure presses so as not to block the cost-intensive production presses. The printing is done on the same substrate and with the same colors that are used for the edition. Another major problem arises from the pressure increase that occurs in the production press . This pressure increase, a broadening of the halftone dots in the darker tones, must also be shown by the proof.

Depending on requirements, 10 to 20 proof sheets are produced, plus a proof scale , which is individual and multiple prints of the various process colors CMYK . A pressure scale is absolutely necessary if the production run is made on a one- or two-color press.

The proof is submitted to the client for approval, who then expresses his correction requests. In the case of extensive corrections, there is a second or even third print run until the client is satisfied with the result. The proof is increasingly being replaced by various proofing processes , since these are cheaper and faster to produce. In contrast to the proof, a proof is always made in 1: 1 size.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Helmut Kipphan (Ed.): Handbuch der Printmedien, page 511f. Verlag Springer, November 2000. ISBN 3-540-66941-8