A Mrs. Baba Wawa from Baltimore, Maryland, writes in and asks:
Q: Why do you all make me see a proof every time I give you a job or make a change?
A: This is an excellent question! You go to a lot of trouble to prepare your document, and you are going to the expense of having it professionally printed at your favorite Baltimore printer. There are many relevant reasons we ask you to review and approve a proof.
First, you are human! Humans make errors! It is nearly impossible to proofread your own work. However, once it is formatted and properly laid out, often mistakes pop out at you that your eyes had skimmed over when writing and reviewing the first time. Seeing a proof from your printer is that extra step that can often save you cost, time and embarrassment at errors you didn’t notice when you first gave us your prepared file.
Next, we are human! Humans make errors! If we are setting up your artwork, sometimes numbers are transposed, names might be misspelled, dates might be incorrect. It is always better to double and triple check BEFORE going to press.
And, once you make a change, we ask you to approve the revised proof, just to make sure we understood your change, that the change looks the way you wanted, and that no other issues cropped up with your piece by making that change. Just like medicine, it’s really for your own good.
Sometimes printers, like us at Curry Printing, take an added step and review your document, even if you’ve given us something “print-ready,” just in case something was missed. This is a value-added service on which many of our clients have come to rely.
If you think of your professional printer as part of your team, having the same goal, making you look good in print, then reviewing a proof is no longer a burden, but simply an added layer of excellence!
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