The Whitley Printing Company

Printing 101

Proofs

Proofs are necessary to account for the image ele­ments, ensure they fit, and are in the right colors, but most importantly, it provides a view into how a finished piece will look.

Paper Dummies

A non-printed sample assembled using the project’s specified paper. Useful for determining page signatures and when trimmed, showing how bulky a document will be and how much it will weigh, if mailing costs are a consideration. Paper Dummies are also useful for choosing paper for pocket folders, direct mail pieces, and other types of publications.

Ink Drawdowns

Often used to determine how the ink and paper will interact before going on press, to determine absorption rates on uncoated papers and for matching critical colors, such as corporate colors, on different types of papers .

Bluelines

Also called Dyluxes, bluelines are rapidly fading from use, as they can only be generated from a negative. Most high-quality printers are moving to a direct-to-plate prepress process. Photosensitive paper is exposed through film negatives to produce a monotone representation of how the job will print. Works well for checking image placement, cropping, folds, etc. on one- and two-color jobs.

Analog Color Proofs

Like bluelines, analog proofs are made directly from the negatives that will be used to burn the plates. Dyes are matched to the inks to simulate a finished printed piece. Long regarded as the most accurate proofing method, analog proofs are rapidly being replaced by digital proofing as the direct-to-plate process is widely adopted.

Digital Proofs

Ranging from simple black and white laser prints to sophisticated color proofs that replicate precisely how a job will look once printed. As digital prepress technology becomes more sophisticated and color accuracy more reliable, digital proofing is rapidly becoming the choice proofing option.

Interactive Remote Digital Color Proofing

This breakthrough allows printers and customers at different locations to view identical, calibrated color proofs from the same digital files. Taken a step further, Whitley’s Color-Certified Digital Proofing merges this technology and rigid certification standards from ColorSciences—the industry leader in color calibration and control technology. Whitley’s Color-Certified Proofing allows proofs (from Whitley and our customers) to be inspected, approved or color corrected over the Web by ColorSciences experts.