A press check is a visit to the print shop where your job is being printed
at the beginning of the press run. For spot color print
jobs, press checks are primarily done by clients and/or their designers
to see if the selected PMS color(s) appear as expected on the specified
paper. Press checks are also done for first-time print runs of stationery
as well as large (high quantity) and full-color CMYK press runs. They are
not often done for second runs and reprints that use the same colors as
prior jobs.
Why do a press check for spot color work?
Why do a press check for full-color (CMYK) work?
What is involved in a press check?
How to have a successful press check.
Why do a press check for spot color
work?
With so much effort going into making color and paper selections that accurately
reflect your company's image to clients, it is only natural to follow through
with a press check to ensure your project's success.
A press check saves the cost of reprinting a job if you aren't happy with
the color. Say you don't do a press check but are unhappy with the color
and want your job reprinted in another color. If the ink the printer used
is the PMS ink you specified and is a match with the PMS book, you will
be responsible for reprinting costs. Alternatively, if you do a press check
and find you don't like the color, the paper hasn't been used and the printer
hasn't spent time completing the job yet. You will likely only be charged
for the ink washup charges if you want a color change.
- Paper - During the paper and ink selection process,
you are often looking at Pantone ink (PMS) books to select ink color.
Because PMS books are not printed on the same paper you selected, the
way the actual PMS ink looks on your paper will be slightly or very different
due to the color and finish of your selected stock as compared with the
paper of the PMS book.
- Ink color - During the ink selection and stationery
proofing process, you are reviewing laser and/or ink jet printouts. Because
personal printers use toner and an entirely different process to produce
color compared with wet inks, the results can hardly ever be the same.
Personal printers typically use CMYK dots (cyan, magenta, yellow and black
-- the ink colors used in the toner or ink jet cartridges) to represent
solid colors whereas PMS colors are solid wet inks.
- PDFs don't do PMS colors justice - During the proofing
process you are often reviewing PDF proofs, which represent PMS colors
very inaccurately. A press check shows you exactly how your colors will
look on the paper you selected.
Why do a press check for full-color
(CMYK) work?
PDF files, your office printer and your monitor will all represent color
in a different way than an offset commercial press. Commercial printers
use different processes than wet inks to produce color in photographs, illustrations
and logos, so the results will be different. In addition, the paper you
select has an impact on saturation and density.
A press check saves the cost of reprinting a job if you aren't happy with
the color on any photos or want to change paper. If you stop the job, you
will still have to pay your designer to edit the photos (although some adjustments
can be made on press), new press plates may need to be made and your job
will be slowed down. But you won't have to buy the paper twice (unless you
stopped the job to change papers), so some money is saved.
What is involved in a press
check?
First, you have to request one. They are not automatically done as they
do hold up presses and slow down other jobs. But printers are happy to do
them to prevent unhappy customers! Generally, press checks are not done
for small jobs (less than $300 or so).
- Be ready for the phone call. The print shop will call
you a day or so in advance to let you know that your job will be on press
at some point the next day. You will be expected to be available within
45 minutes or so of a call to your office or cell phone to come to the
print shop and do your press check. Delaying a press check holds up other
jobs scheduled for the press, so it's a good idea not to be late.
- The press is loaded. When you arrive, your ink colors
as well as one part of your print order will be loaded on the offset printing
press. A few pages of the job will be run off on the paper you selected
so that you can see what the final outcome will be.
- Decision time. If you are happy with the way things
look, your job and any remaining items using your colors will continue
to be printed and you are free to go. But if you want adjustments, costs
will be involved (ask your printer how much) and you may be asked to stay
while they make adjustments.
- Changing inks (applies to spot color only). If you
are unhappy with the ink color(s), you should ask the print shop at this
point how much it will cost if you make changes. You and the printer can
look at the PMS book to try to find a better color for the job. Typically,
washing up a press and mixing new inks and reloading the press will cost
you about $40 per ink and will take up to 30 minutes. You should wait
at the printer to see how the new color(s) comes out once it is loaded
on the press.
- Changing ink coverage (spot or full color). If your
job appears "washed out," ask the printer if they can run the
inks heavier to see if that gives a better result. There is often not
a charge associated with this request, but running inks too heavy can
cause photos and/or gradients to lose sharpness, so the printer will want
to make sure it isn't taken too far. Paper stock can also have an impact
on this issue, so running heavy may not solve the problem. It may also
be that the digital files themselves need to be manipulated by the designer
(especially in the case of photographs) and new plates run. This latter
cause will incur fees at the print shop for new plates and possibly at
the design studio as well.
- Changing papers. If you are changing papers, the stock
may need to be ordered or at least picked up at the paper company, and
you may be charged for the additional paper. The print shop will have
had to purchase your specified paper in advance and will often have to
cut it to a certain size. Once paper is cut, it is not returnable to the
paper company. If you are changing papers and the new paper isn't immediately
available, the printer may need to charge you to wash up and reload inks
when the paper does come in as other jobs may be waiting to get on that
press.
- Other changes. If you see incorrect information on
your document such as a wrong photo or incorrect copy (we hope this never
happens!) that must be changed. You will likely need to work with your
designer to make these changes, who will prepare a new set of files to
send back over to the printer. It will be at least a day or more before
your job can get back on the press. If the problem was due to a lack of
proofing on your part or if the designer didn't make a requested change,
the respective party should be responsible for charges for new negatives,
new plates and press washup.
How to have a successful press
check:
Be as sure as possible about your PMS ink selections and paper choices
that you have communicated to the printer in advance. This will lessen the
chance that you will be unhappy with the initial outcome of the press check.
Be sure that you have proofed final versions of your document very closely
— changes after a job gets on the press will slow everything down
by at least a day and will cost money to reprint new plates.
Request a proof for all jobs, and consider paying extra for a match print
on CMYK jobs (if the price is not included in the print estimate).
Be prepared to make a decision — do you want to see the job proceed
as is, or if you want to see a change? Understand the time and monetary
costs if changes are requested, but do not be overwhelmed by them. Changes
at a press check are less expensive than reprinting a job!
A final note... Printing is a custom manufacturing process
on a small scale and can be prone to problems if communications between
all parties involved are not solid and clear. A press check is face-to-face
communication — the most direct kind.