Heard a production manager say he never checks color proofs at a conference last week

Guy was bragging about saving time by just eyeballing the screen and sending files straight to press. Has anyone else dealt with a client who got burned doing that?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_terry13d ago

Funny enough, I actually see it the other way. Checking proofs isn't just about color accuracy, it's about catching the little things that a screen can hide. A proof gives you a physical object to hold up to the light and inspect every detail, and that process catches more than just a bad magenta. You might spot a registration shift or a weird halftone pattern that you wouldn't notice on a backlit monitor. Plus, the time savings from skipping a proof get eaten up fast when a client rejects a whole run because the brand red looks too orange under their office lights. Eyeballing it works until it doesn't, and that one time is usually a nightmare.

burns.brooke13d ago

Honestly, the wild part is he's probably saved more time than he's lost so far, but one color-critical job will undo all that "savings" in a single reprint. Ngl, the real risk isn't even bad color, it's catching a massive typo that you'd only see in a proof.