PublisherTalk

Proofing is often a very overlooked step in the book printing process. This isn't to say that it's not important - it's probably the most important step of printing.

Publisher Services' book printing uses two levels of proofing - the soft proof and the hard proof. The soft proof is made up of a print-ready PDF, which will be the same file we will use to print your book. It's important to carefully read over your entire proof, several times even, because at this point, you can make edits and changes to your book with no cost.

The hard proof is an actual copy of your book - Publisher Services provides a fully bound book for your review. Even though changes at this point will require a reformatting fee (which is standard for all printers), it's important to look through the book very finely as well to make sure the printing is correct. Some questions to ask yourself about your hard proof are:

• Are all the fonts rendered properly?
• Is the color on the cover correct?
• Is the cover text readable?
• Do the pages line up the way I want them?

Remember, your printer provides proofs for a reason - to save you money and make your product look as good as it can - so make sure to take advantage of them!

Posted in: formatting, proofing, writing on Friday, May 8, 2009 at at 10:52 AM