Has Proofing Gone ‘Soft’?

Harrell—There’s a big distinction between real-time proofing and remote proofing. Real-time proofing essentially is always soft proofing. I don’t know that in today’s environment the soft proof is replacing the contract proof. The benefits are that you have something the customer and the vendor can immediately see and discuss. The opportunity for revisions is certainly promoted in an environment of collaboration. But quite often what is missing or perceived to be missing is color accuracy. More and more clients/customers/buyers want to see a proof printed on something as close to a representative of, if not the real material it’s going to be printed on; the screen can simulate this, but obviously can’t fulfill it. The soft proofing environment is more of a collaborative tool than a contract approval, and the fact remains that color management is the biggest hurdle in this whole process.