Every job - from a simple black and white form to a four-color annual report - requires good, solid proofing. You may not think you can afford to take the time to read and reread something, but can you afford a typo in your glossy image brochure? A wrong 800 number in the registration materials you need to mail Monday? Proofing is essential. Period.

We'll do the necessary prepress work and provide you with a laser proof of your job. This is the time to check margins, folds, color placement, centering of headlines and copy blocks. Remember, changes get more costly with each step of the process.

Sherpa proofing is your final proofing stage. What you see at this stage is what you'll get on press. The Sherpa 2 digital blueline proof is backed up, folded and trimmed exactly as your finished product. Your pages are processed through the same RIP as they will be when printing plates are generated. Our Sherpa 43 offers contract color match proofing. If the proofs are approved without changes, the file is output without having to be RIP'd again. If there are changes, you save the cost of an additional set of film and plates. And, we will issue you another proof with the corrections made for your review.

Marking a Proof:

• Using a permanent marker or ballpoint pen (no pencils, please - the marks are too easy to overlook) indicate changes to your proof.
• Do NOT use "sticky notes" that can fall off.
• Do NOT write specific change notations on the approval sheet since these sheets can get separated from the proofs. Write changes on the proof itself.

Size & Folding

• Are the flat and folded sizes of your piece correct? Is the proof folded correctly?
• Are all scores, perforations and diecuts indicated?

Copy & Pages

• Are there any typographical or grammatical errors?
• Are there any missing characters?
• Are names, addresses, phone numbers, web addresses, or other easily overlooked items correct?
• Are the pages in the correct order?
• Is all the copy in the proper position on the page or panel?
• Is the correct page number in the correct position on each page?
• Are margins straight and consistent?
• Are there any dust spots, crop marks, registration marks, editor's marks, or dirt marks showing?

Photos & Illustrations

• Have all photos and/or illustrations been shot at the proper size and placed in the correct positions?
• Are there any upside-down or flopped images?
• Does each image have the proper caption?
• If outline rules are being used, do photographs fully touch them?

Color Breaks & Registration

• Are the correct ink colors indicated properly?
• Do areas of different ink colors align (register) correctly?

Binding & Finishing

• If saddle stitched, are the staples in the correct position?
• If perfect bound, is the spine the correct thickness?
• Are binding holes the correct size and position?
• Do perforation marks, appearing as images, print and perforate? Or print only?