These are the words both customers and brochure printers dread. Who wants an inaccurate printout? Certainly not the customer who paid for the products. But neither the printer who toils to keep quality at its best, and at the same time attends to other job orders.

The good news is that brochure printing disappointments are actually avoidable. How, you ask? With proofs.

A Preview

Proofs are copies of how your design would look like in print. It’s like a preview of your brochures. Printing cannot proceed without you reviewing the details and approving this pre-final image.

You can choose which type of proof to avail. There’s the free soft copy proof which is sent to you via email, and the hard copy proof which is printed and then sent to your for evaluation.

Pick a proof

Soft copy proofs are good for brochure printing projects that are not too concerned with strict color accuracy. No, it doesn’t mean that the colors to be printed on your brochures would deviate from the actual colors you choose. It’s just that printers and monitors use different color spaces, CMYK and RGB, respectively. What you see on the screen could be slightly different from the final printed output.

They are sent to clients in PDF format via the net so you can get it faster and submit it faster. Needless to say, soft copy proofs have the edge of speed and cost-effectiveness.

For brochure designs with logos that are made up of unique hues, hard copy proofs are advisable. For logos and other images with signature shades like LA Lakers’ violet and McDonald’s yellow, color accuracy is very important. These proofs are printed on paper so they are mailed to you. Printing includes paper and ink, hence, hard copy proofs come with a price.

Proof elements

Proofs come with trim marks, bleed marks, registration marks and color bars. They serve as guides for proof review. Pay special attention to the trim and bleed marks as these will help prevent details from being chopped off and create a full bleed design without fine white lines at the edges.

So if you’ve had an unfortunate case of inaccurate brochure printing, you know you’ll be needing a proof.

Brochure Printing Tips