Proofing & Printing

Now that your piece is designed and off to the printer you can breathe easy. All that's left is to approve proofs then take delivery, right? Wrong. Most mistakes that are made along the way will show up now. Despite your best efforts there will be some problems that only appear after the job has gone to press-or even later. Here we'll cover some of what you can expect after your job goes to press, including what to look for when checking proofs and a little bit about finishing.

Proofing
The number one rule on proofs involves last-minute changes: keep them to a minimum! Even if you want to pay for the luxury, you open yourself up to potential disaster due to the fact that late changes never get the same quality control treatment that original materials do. Proofs are distinguished in three ways, based on the time they're produced relative to the job: prepress and off-press (produced before the press run as approximations) and press proofs (also called "progressives," printed on the same type of press as the job).

Types of Proofs: Proofs are often referred to by their brand names (Matchprints, Cromalins or Color Keys, for example). Make yourself familiar with these, if possible, as they each have special advantages and drawbacks. The arrival of digital proofing technologies offers even more choices.
Checking Off-Press Proofs: One or two-color proofs are fairly straight-forward. A detailed list is below. Check color breaks if you have a second color. If you're checking a color proof be sure to use the same lighting as when you evaluate your originals. Keep in mind, however, that you will never see the colors exactly as they will print out on the final. Here are the key things to check:

pagination and margins
size, position and cropping of art
position, value of screens
treatment of keylines
moiré
register problems
sharpness in detail
broken type
broken screens
spots and scratches
color cast in neutral colors
overall color
ink density across sheet

Scoring and Folding
Many jobs have to be folded at some point. Weight and direction of fold play heavily in the success of the process.

Scoring: Usually scoring is done on the press or, sometimes, on a separate folding machine using a metal die or rule. Perforating is done through a similar process.
Folding: The basic rule of folding is: with the grain is smoother, against the grain is stronger. Also, keep in mind that heavy and light stocks both have their potential problems when it comes to folding.

Binding
Most projects with pages require some sort of binding and there are a variety to choose from.

Stitched and Perfect: "Saddle stitching" is fast and cheap and, therefore, quite popular. Staples are put through the backbone and pages can lie flat however this process can't be used on documents thicker than 1/4". "Side stitching" puts a staple through the document about 1/4" inch from the left margin. Larger pieces can utilize this but pages will not lie flat. "Perfect binding" is often used for magazines and paperback books. This involves trimming the spine and gluing for a lasting bind. It can be as cost-effective as stitching however it does not work for all paper stocks.
Mechanical and Other Bindings: Generally more expensive, these include "spiral", "wire comb" and "plastic comb" bindings. There is also "casebound" which utilizes threading in the spine, often used in hard cover books. And "looseleaf" where the pages are drilled so rings can be inserted.