Before print projects go to press, customers are provided with digital (usually PDFs) or physical proofs to review. Proofing is the final step before you and the printer are committed to producing the job. If you’ve missed something, you can end up having to reprint and pay for an unusable print run. Or, you’ll have to live with using something that is flawed.
As in all things computer-related, the rule is “garbage in, garbage out.” So it is very important that you proofread your text files before you submit them to your printer.
Proofreading happens at the end of a project when people are often facing deadlines — a situation that can lead to errors going unnoticed. Of course, if the project is uncomplicated, with few or no words (perhaps purely graphical in nature) proofing can be easy and fast. Basically, the more complicated or word-driven the piece is, the more care must be taken to proofread. But even items as simple as business cards can trip you up because they contain information you use so often you stop seeing it accurately — your brain compensates for errors and shows you what you expect to see. Addresses, phone numbers, web addresses, email addresses — especially cut and pasted from other digital documents — really need to be double-checked.
Tips for Successful Proofreading
- Delegate the task, if possible.
If you have been working closely on a project, you will have already become used to errors that may be embedded in the text and layout. Fresh eyes will often spot things easily while tired, familiar eyes have to work harder to notice anomalies. If you delegate the proofreading, you need to select someone with appropriate and necessary skills: spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc. - If you can’t delegate, take a break.
The next best thing to genuinely fresh eyes are rested eyes. Depending on your available timeframe, you should take as “long” a break as you reasonably can. A day or two can make a big difference, but even a few hours can help. Twenty minutes is probably the rock-bottom minimum. The less time you remove yourself from the task, the harder you will have to work to proofread. - Do NOT rely on automated Spell, Grammar or Punctuation Checks.
But do pay attention to them! In other words, review any flags you get from the program, one at a time. Do mass changes in text with special care. Remember, spellchecking addresses word spelling but not grammar. For example, spellchecking doesn’t tell you when to use to, too, two or there, their, or they’re. Punctuation errors are very much a matter of context and should be checked individually. - Do automated checks first because you can catch errors easily.
Then, depending on the nature of the piece, proceed to the next steps. - Perform a “find” search to check all instances of repeated items/terms.
Check items like your phone number, web address, email address, etc. But look closely, even read them aloud. As noted above, it’s easy to miss errors in familiar items because our brains compensate. - Read your piece out loud, slowly.
Reading aloud forces you to actually see each word before pronouncing it, which helps you spot skipped words and other errors. Reading aloud can also help you improve unclear language and notice repetitions of words and phrases. It’s common for people to use a newly discovered word multiple times in succeeding paragraphs. Consult your thesaurus if you need to find a synonym, then be conscious of the tendency to re-use words! - Read your piece end-to-beginning, one sentence at a time.
Taking sentences out of context in that way helps overcome the trap of familiarity, which can blind you to errors. - Have someone else do a final review.
After you or your surrogate feels they’ve done all they can, have someone else review the finished piece. If you’ve done a good job, your reader should sail through comfortably but they may also find that one last thing you missed!
If you have any questions about proofreading, give us a call at 330-597-8560. We’re happy to help you get the most out of your printing project.
