Proofing is the final opportunity to check that your magazine is correct before it moves into production.
Modern magazine production increasingly uses remote artwork submission, automated prepress checks and online approval systems. This makes the process fast and efficient, but it is important to understand exactly what you are being asked to approve — and, equally importantly, what an approval proof can and cannot tell you.
At Magazine Printing Company, we require finished artwork to be supplied as PDF/X-1a. Once the magazine specification and production route have been established, the selected print supplier manages the appropriate colour workflow for the paper stock and printing conditions being used.
The approval proof we provide is generated after the artwork has been processed through the RIP.
This gives you an important final opportunity to check the processed artwork before production.
However, a post-RIP approval proof should not be confused with a calibrated contract colour proof. They perform different jobs.
What Happens After You Supply Your Artwork?
Once your PDF/X-1a artwork is received, it enters the prepress workflow.
The exact workflow varies according to the paper stock, printing process and production route selected for the magazine.
Prepress checks the supplied files and prepares them for production. Checks can include:
- page size and trim size
- bleed
- page count and pagination
- fonts
- image resolution
- colour space
- total ink coverage
- overprint settings
- other technical characteristics of the supplied PDF
The selected print supplier manages the appropriate colour-management settings and printing condition for the paper stock and production process being used.
Any issues requiring client attention can then be raised before the magazine proceeds to production.
What Is a Post-RIP Proof?
A RIP — Raster Image Processor — processes the supplied page information into the data required by the production system.
Our approval proofs are post-RIP.
That distinction matters.
Rather than simply reviewing the original PDF you supplied, the proof allows you to review the content after it has passed through this important stage of the production workflow.
The post-RIP proof is therefore primarily a content and production approval proof.
You should use it to confirm that the processed job contains the correct:
- pages
- text
- photographs and graphics
- page order
- positioning
- content
- trims and bleeds
- other visible page elements
It is your final opportunity to identify content problems before authorising production.
What Should I Check on My Approval Proof?
Do not treat approval as a formality.
Check the complete magazine carefully, including:
Pagination
Make sure every page is present and in the correct reading order.
Text
Check headlines, body copy, captions, page numbers, dates, prices, telephone numbers, web addresses and other important information.
Images and graphics
Make sure the correct versions appear and nothing is missing or unexpectedly altered.
Positioning
Check that text, images and other page elements appear where expected.
Bleed and trim
Look carefully at elements running to the edge of the page and anything positioned close to the finished trim.
Covers
Check the front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover and back cover particularly carefully.
For perfect-bound and PUR-bound magazines, also check that the cover artwork and spine information correspond with the agreed production specification.
Once you approve the proof, production proceeds on the basis of that approval.
Is the Approval Proof Colour Accurate?
Not necessarily.
This is one of the most important distinctions in modern magazine proofing.
A remote PDF or online approval proof viewed on an ordinary computer monitor should not be regarded as an accurate prediction of the final printed colour.
Screens produce colour using emitted light, while printing reproduces colour using inks on paper. Monitor calibration, brightness, viewing conditions and the display itself can all affect what you see.
The principal purpose of the normal post-RIP approval proof is therefore to approve the processed content and construction of the job, rather than to provide a contractual prediction of press colour.
Colour is managed separately within the production workflow according to the paper stock and printing process selected for the magazine.
Where accurate colour prediction is commercially important, a properly controlled contract colour proof is a different product.
What Is a Contract Colour Proof?
A contract colour proof is produced within a controlled colour-management workflow specifically to provide a reliable simulation of the intended printed result.
For appropriate offset production, contract proofs can be produced in accordance with ISO 12647-7 and the relevant printing condition.
This is fundamentally different from viewing an ordinary approval PDF on screen.
A contract proof may be appropriate where accurate colour reproduction is particularly important — for example, where a publication contains colour-critical photography, corporate colours, advertising material or other content for which a controlled colour reference is required.
If colour is critical to your project, tell us before production begins so that the appropriate proofing requirements can be established with the selected print supplier.
Who Determines the Colour Settings for My Magazine?
You do not need to choose a FOGRA condition or production colour profile yourself.
The magazine printing company establishes the magazine specification and selects an appropriate production route. The selected print supplier then manages the colour workflow for the paper stock, printing process and production conditions being used.
Different papers and production processes have different colour-reproduction characteristics. A coated sheetfed stock, lightweight coated web stock and an uncoated paper will not reproduce the same artwork identically.
This is why colour management forms part of the production process rather than being something the publisher should attempt to configure for a particular printing press.
Your responsibility is to supply correctly prepared PDF/X-1a artwork. The production workflow then takes account of the actual manufacturing conditions selected for the job.
What Is FOGRA and Why Does It Matter?
FOGRA characterisation data is widely used within European colour-managed printing workflows to describe defined printing conditions.
Different printing processes and paper types reproduce colour differently. Appropriate characterisation data provides a recognised reference for the relevant printing condition.
For the publisher, the important point is simple:
you do not need to decide which FOGRA condition should be used.
The selected print supplier manages the appropriate colour workflow for the paper and production process being used.
This allows colour to be managed against defined production conditions rather than relying on how artwork happens to appear on an uncontrolled computer monitor.
How Is Colour Controlled on Press?
Colour management does not end when the artwork has been processed.
For offset lithographic printing, ISO 12647-2 defines process-control aims and tolerances for colour reproduction during printing.
This is separate from ISO 12647-7, which relates to proofing processes used for contract proofs.
The distinction is useful:
ISO 12647-7 — controlled contract colour proofing.
ISO 12647-2 — process control for offset lithographic printing.
In practical terms, consistent printed colour comes from controlling the production process — including artwork preparation, paper, inks, press conditions and colour management — rather than trying to make a printed magazine visually match an uncontrolled computer screen.
Does Paper Affect Printed Colour?
Yes — significantly.
The same artwork can reproduce differently on different paper stocks.
Paper shade, coating, surface characteristics and absorbency all influence the finished result. A coated sheet can reproduce colour differently from an uncoated paper, while lightweight coated papers introduce another set of production characteristics.
This is why the paper specification is directly connected to colour management.
Once the stock and production route are selected, the print supplier manages the appropriate colour workflow for that combination.
This is also why Magazine Printing Company takes a specification-led approach to magazine production. Paper, printing process, pagination, quantity, binding and colour requirements are considered together when selecting the appropriate production route.
What About Image Resolution?
Image resolution is checked during prepress and potentially unsuitable images can be reported.
However, there is not a sensible universal rule that every image below one particular resolution must automatically be rejected.
An image may be intentionally used at a particular resolution, there may be no higher-resolution original available, or the client may consider the result acceptable for its intended use.
We will advise where we identify a potential resolution issue.
The decision to accept and use that image remains a client-led quality decision.
Where possible, magazine images intended for normal high-quality reproduction are commonly supplied at around 300 dpi at their final placed size.
What About Total Ink Coverage?
CMYK printing creates colours by combining cyan, magenta, yellow and black ink.
In darker areas, the combined quantity of those inks is known as total ink coverage.
The appropriate total ink coverage depends upon the paper, printing process and production conditions.
For that reason, we do not give publishers one arbitrary total ink coverage figure and suggest that it is suitable for every magazine.
It is handled as part of the technical preparation of the artwork for the selected production route.
If prepress identifies something within the supplied artwork that requires client attention, we will advise you.
What About Spot Colours?
Some magazines contain colours specified separately from the standard CMYK process set.
Whether these are reproduced as separate inks or converted into the production colour space depends upon the agreed specification and production route.
If a particular colour is critical, identify this when requesting your quotation and before artwork is approved for production.
Do not assume that a colour viewed on an ordinary monitor represents how that colour will reproduce on the selected paper in print.
What About Overprint?
Overprint settings determine how certain objects interact with colours underneath them.
They can be deliberately used within professional artwork, particularly for black elements, but incorrect overprint settings can also produce unexpected results.
Prepress systems can identify technical characteristics within the supplied PDF, but the approval proof remains an important opportunity to check that the processed pages visually contain what you expect before authorising production.
Do I Need to Impose the Pages?
No.
Supply your magazine as individual pages in reading order. Do not impose the magazine yourself.
Imposition is the production process that arranges pages into the correct positions for the printing and binding method being used.
The required imposition depends upon the press format, pagination, binding method and production route.
It is therefore a production function handled after artwork supply rather than something publishers should build into their files.
What Happens When I Approve the Proof?
Approval tells the production team that you have checked the supplied proof and are authorising the magazine to proceed.
This is why the approval stage must be taken seriously.
Once production has begun, correcting an error can involve stopping production, remaking production components, reprinting sections or, in some circumstances, reproducing the complete job.
Check the proof thoroughly before approving it.
If something is wrong, do not approve the proof and assume it can be corrected later. Raise the issue first.
Will Artwork Changes Affect the Production Schedule?
They can.
If corrections are required after the first proof, replacement artwork may need to be supplied, processed again and re-approved.
That takes time.
For publications working to a fixed mailing date, distribution date or publication date, late artwork changes can therefore put the production schedule under pressure.
Building sufficient time for prepress, proofing and approval into the production schedule reduces that risk.
Magazine Proof Approval Checklist
Before giving final approval, check:
- all pages are present
- pagination is correct
- text and headlines are correct
- page numbers are correct
- images and graphics are the correct versions
- no elements are unexpectedly missing
- positioning is correct
- covers are correct
- spine information is correct where applicable
- trims and bleeds appear as expected
- advertisements are the correct versions
- contact details, dates, prices and URLs are correct
- any requested corrections have actually been made
- the complete proof has been checked rather than only the amended pages
Only approve the job when you are satisfied that the processed content is correct.
Need Help With Magazine Artwork or Colour?
Magazine Printing Company is the specialist magazine operation of Cliffe Enterprise Ltd, an independent UK print-management company established in 1991.
Because we are not tied to one printing plant or one production route, the paper, printing process and manufacturing route can be selected according to the requirements of the individual publication.
The corresponding colour-management requirements are then managed within the production workflow by the selected print supplier.
If you are unsure about PDF/X-1a artwork, prepress, proofing, colour requirements, paper choice or the most appropriate production process, speak to us before production.
It is much easier to resolve a technical question before a magazine reaches press than after it has been printed.
Planning your next magazine? Get a magazine printing quote and we’ll advise on the artwork, specification and most appropriate production route.
