20 ways to proof read your documents

Images

• Unless you have a carefully calibrated monitor, go by numbers and colour swatches, not by how the job looks on the screen!
• Save your images as CMYK, not RGB. RGB images usually print with flat, lifeless colour.
• If the same image is used at different sizes in the one document, it should be cropped, resized and saved for each use. Cropping to a small part of a large image can slow down job processing substantially.
• Don't use PICT files, which are always RGB, and don't paste into picture boxes - import and place files.
• Always select 'Use Printer Defaults' (Page Setup > screen) when saving PhotoShop files. This will remove the possibility of individual images printing to a different screen ruling (usually more coarse!) than the rest of the document.

Colours

• Remove all unused spot/custom colours from your document, as well as from all placed files in the document (charts, illustrations etc.). In Illustrator, go to Custom Colours > Select all unused > Delete > Save > Update.
• It is particularly important in Illustrator that black lines are CMYK black and not spot black. If they are spot black, they will print on all four plates. This can be achieved universally in a document by selecting Filter > Colours > Adjust Colours > and selecting Custom and B&W colours to Process.
• Black text may print on all four plates of a CMYK separated job if text is cut and pasted from some software (such as MS Word or Excel or Publisher), or if Publish and Subscribe is used with Excel. If you have to work this way, please let us know so we can plan appropriate action to ensure the text prints only on the black sections of your printing.

Flightchecking Files • 20 Proofreading Tips:

- Use a red pen to proofread and mark errors.
- Read the document forward, checking for proper grammar.
- Read the document backward, checking for misspellings.
- Check and recheck dates, names, addresses and phone numbers.
- Check headlines and subheadings.
- Check spacing and margins.
- Check photos and illustrations, and for correct captions.
- Check quotes and documentation.
- Check abbreviations and contractions.
- Check for doubled words, such as to to.
- Check fonts, punctuation and fragments.
- Check subject/verb agreement.
- Check nouns and verbs, and avoid slang words, unless appropriate, jargon, and clichés.
- Check for consistent verb tenses and voice.
- Check for paraphrasing.
- Read the document aloud. Ask someone else to read it aloud.
- Turn the document upside down to eliminate word distractions, then check it again.
- Note that spell check recognizes there, their and they're as the same.
- When in doubt, reference a dictionary or thesaurus.
- Take a break and then proofread it again.