Technical guide

PDFs and proofs

Transmitting files

Invariably PDF (Portable Document Format) is the preferred format. Before delivery, your file should be checked, corrected and finalised.

PDFs can be used directly by the printing company.

Transmitting files in other formats involves additional processing work and expense for the printing company.

Receiving proofs

Before the final print run, we automatically send the proofs to the client for a final, detailed check. It is only after the client gives us the go-ahead that we proceed with printing. We can transmit proofs in three different ways:

• By post or courier : a reliable but costly method
• By fax : fast, but less reliable, sometimes barely legible
• By PDF : sent by e-mail, fast, inexpensive, reliable, viewed at a computer

PDF colour proofs

It is worth knowing that the colours on screen may be significantly different from the colours on paper. There are fundamental differences between the printing of a CMYK (Cyan Magenta Yellow Black) proof and the colorimetry of an RGB (Red Green Blue) screen.

While a calibration is performed on the printer’s screens, it may not necessarily be the case at the client’s end. For this reason, a printing company will never accept contractual liability for PDF colour proofs.