Do You Need A Proof?
Easy View, our online designer was created to give you a free proof in most cases. Of course there are times when you are requesting work from our design team and a proof is needed.
What is a proof?
A proof is a preliminary version of the art we will be printing. Our digital proof will show you the size in inches, color placement, and spelling. A proof adds cost, $26, and production time to your turnaround. When a proof is ordered, we will not start printing the order until you have approved the proof. The approval of the proof starts the production turnaround shown on both our turnaround page and turnaround ticker at the top of the page.
Your Online Designer Proof
Surprisingly, we find customers tend to order a proof when it is not necessary. This adds unnecessary cost and time to your order. We created Easy View the online designer so unless you are requesting changes, there is a free proof on the artboard. What you see on screen is a good representation of what you will receive and getting a proof will not give you any better representation. On Easy View you will see the same color representation, color placement, spelling, and the notation of size.
The same information is again shown in the review and approve page prior to you adding it to your cart
When Should You Order a Proof
There are times when a proof is beneficial.
The first is if you are asking us to change something in order notes that is not shown on the artboard, in Easy view Online Designer. An example, might be you want us to remove trees from the art you provided. A proof would be important since you are using words to try and describe a desired change, and a proof would be needed to be sure we understand your needs.
A second scenario you need to order a proof is if you want students to sign a signature template. We will create a watermark free template that can be printed out and signed.
A third scenario you are required to order a proof is when your UltraColor Max art will not pass the heat map in the online designer, Easy View. A common situation would be art that is low resolution. You may have found art on a website and added it to the artboard. The heat map will note it is low resolution and require a proof. Since there is no art time built into the price of UltraColor Max, you will see the note that a proof is required so we can correct the art for you as best we can.
Here is an example of what your digital proof will look like:
Colors
Both the Easy View artboard and a digital proof can only show approximation of color. The best way to see actual screen-printed transfer ink is using a color selector. Our screen-printed inks come from buckets of ink on the print floor and are a match to the color selectors. The ink used on the color selector came from those same ink buckets and has been applied on white material.
With our digital transfers if you provided your art in CMYK, we also print in CMYK so the color will be as close as possible. The color on the artboard is RGB and so may be slightly off in shade than what you will get. If you selected our stock ink colors for your digital order the color selector is again the best representation of the color. However, digital printing does have a different look and it will not be an exact match to the screen-printed ink colors shown, but as close as we can get using the process.
Proof Approval
If you are using Easy View proofing with no added notes, when you get to the review and approve page, just check over the details and add to cart and submit.
If you ordered a digital proof, please go to your online dashboard to approve as is and submit the order or request a revision. With a proof you do get two free revisions.
Do you have any questions about your art or the need for a proof? Our customer service team can be reached by phone, email and live chat during business hours.