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Graphic Design vocabulary · Print Production

Proof

Meaning in graphic design, with examples

/pruːf/nounCore term

In graphic design, proof means: A trial version of a design, on paper or as a PDF, that the designer and client check carefully for mistakes and colour before the full print run starts.

In Turkish: prova, baskı provası, kontrol çıktısı

How it is used

Used with printers and clients at the end of a project. Printers send a digital proof or a hard-copy proof; you check, approve or sign off a proof. To proofread means checking the text for spelling errors.

Example sentences

  1. The printer will send a PDF proof tomorrow, and we need the client's approval by Thursday.

  2. On the colour proof the red looked too orange, so we adjusted the CMYK values.

Common collocations

  • digital proof
  • colour proof
  • hard-copy proof
  • approve the proof
  • final proof
  • sign offTo give final approval to a design, proof or stage of a project, so that the work can move on to production or the next step.
  • print-readyDescribes a final file that meets the printer's requirements and can go straight to press, with correct size, bleed, colour mode, image resolution and fonts.
  • offset printingA common commercial printing method in which ink is transferred from metal plates to a rubber blanket and then onto paper. It is cost-effective for large quantities.
  • revisionA change made to a design after feedback, or a new version of the design that includes those changes. Contracts often limit the number of revision rounds.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Print Production

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