Article Summary: Proofing: Analog or Digital?

2.26.99

As digital workflows become more common in prepress departments, a digital proof for the customer is a logical component. The proof needs to represent how the final printed product will look.

Analog, film-based proofs are made from the color separations traditionally used to make the printing plates and are therefore accurate representations of the final product.

All digital workflows, including digital proofs, can be representative of the product also. If the same raster image processor (RIP) is used to produce the proof and the plates, each dot has a common parent. With accurate color management, digitally printed hardcopy proofs are gaining acceptance as accurate representatives of the final product printed on a traditional press. Additional standardization of CMYK colors between hardcopy proof printers will help to increase their utility.

Makeready waste can be reduced with color management systems which can adjust each printed dot originally seen in a digital proof and eventually delivered to the customer.

Source: Graphic Arts Monthly, February, 1999, p. 58-67.
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