Aug. 29, 2005—Remote proofing, also known as soft proofing, has been around for a number of years in various forms. There are multiple ways of approaching it, from software solutions, to integrated systems, to Web-based viewing and approvals. While the service has gained some acceptance, many printers still hesitate to utilize it.

The problem has been the unreliability of the hardware—printers had no way of knowing whether a client was looking at the same color, or even if another branch of their own shop had calibrated their monitors the same way. So while many have used soft proofing for checking details such as typos or image placement, when it comes to final contract proofs, most still rely on a hard-copy print sent via overnight mail.

However, that is beginning to change. With the cost of hardware coming down, clients now have most of what they need already in-house, and it is just a matter of making sure everyone is speaking the same language, software-wise.

"The availability of the enabling technology, and reduced costs [are the biggest advances in remote proofing recently]," said John Sweeney, vice president of sales and marketing, ICS. "For example, an Apple Cinema display is now under $1,500, and colorimeters are available for $250 for monitor profiling and calibration. Internet connectivity is now ubiquitous, and in many cases, customers have the hardware in place, with the exception of a calibration instrument."

Gaining Speed
Hand-in-hand with the availability of good technology is an increasing industry acceptance of the process. Client education is improving, and more and more are willing to give it a try.

"From an industry perspective, the most important change has been the move by some major print buyers toward the use of color-accurate monitor proofing to reduce or eliminate the use of hard-copy contract proofs from their print production workflow," said Pat Lord, product manager, Workflow & Prepress Equipment Group, GCG, Eastman Kodak Co.

This trend isn't showing any sign of slowing down. At the VUE Point conference this past April in Orlando, Fla., Dave Koteski, director of color science at Arandell Corp., noted that convincing clients to proof for content is fairly easy, but convincing them to proof for color is where they run into issues. Where printers are getting more savvy is in the area of client education.

"Seeing is believing," noted Mr. Sweeney. "Historically, every new proofing technology has taken time to be accepted by the industry. 3M MatchPrint and DuPont Chromalin were not initially accepted, but became the industry standards.

Many said inkjet would never be good enough, but today a majority of color contract proofing is inkjet," he added. "It is not a question of if, rather when, monitor proofing will be widely accepted for contract proofing."

Mr. Lord concurred, noting that "Any new type of proof undergoes a certain amount of scrutiny and soft proofing is no exception; a certain amount of education and exposure to soft proofing is essential to developing acceptance. For the specific case of color-accurate monitor proofing it is clear that people need to see the color match that can be achieved as a first step in gaining that acceptance. The fact that the soft proof can be set up to provide an excellent match of an existing hard proof that they are already comfortable with is a tremendous help."

There are many options on the market for those looking to install some sort of remote proofing system—hardware and software, in-house and hosted, even internally networked and accessed over the Internet.

"The main difference between the systems on the market today is whether they are open versus proprietary systems," said Mr. Sweeney. "Also, whether the image server is on the Internet, or local, is important to understand, and is also a key differentiator."

Many of the solutions for remote proofing allow printers to host their proofs online, paying a fee for each uploaded page. The proofs can then be accessed by whomever the printer gives a password to via a standard Web browser and Internet connection. This option is becoming more mainstream, as the move to Web-to-print services picks up steam.

In fact, Trendwatch Graphic Arts reported in a recent study that 30 percent of commercial printers are offering some sort of Web-to-print service, with that number forecast expected to grow. As these types of offerings gain acceptance, the need for online proofing options will, as well.

Making a Choice
With all these options, printers must figure out exactly what they are looking for before they purchase anything. "Looking internally, [printers] should consider how the solution is going to fit into their production process: Will it function more like a standalone proofer or be integrated into their production workflow where it can provide the maximum value?" pointed out Mr. Lord. "Looking externally, they should consider what customers they will initially offer the service to and think about how they will market and support this new capability so that they can reap the benefits."

Mr. Sweeney went a bit further, and offered three questions that printers should ask before making any decisions: Is this system cross-platform to accommodate my clients and the pressroom? Is it an open system with off-the-shelf hardware and ICC standard profiles? What is the cost to deploy this solution to my customers?

"The move to monitor proofing is not a technology decision," continued Mr. Sweeney. "It is a business decision, and should involve top management, finance, as well as operations in the decision on how to deploy inside your shop, as well as to customers."

Workflow integration is another major consideration, and should be closely examined. Printers need to know up front whether or not a new system will fit seamlessly into their current operations, or, if changes will need to be made, they will need to determine how difficult the transition will be and how much time it will take.

Proofing Predictions
"Audit and study your current costs of proofing, and all activities related to the transportation, storage, and duplication of proofs," Mr. Sweeney advised. "Honestly ask how much time your salespeople and CSRs spend acting as a courier. [Assess] how often a job is run without final proofs because there is not time to pull another round after a last minute change."

Many believe that the soft-proofing trend will continue until it is just another industry standard. "Soft proofing is part of a larger trend in graphic arts to take full advantage of digital workflows in delivering automation, efficiency, and improved services," said Mr. Lord. "Soft proofing will continue to establish a larger and larger share as a proofing technology because it offers such clear benefits in taking both time and cost out of content creation and production processes."

Mr. Sweeney agreed, "In five years, monitor proofing will be widely accepted for contract proofing. In 10 years, hard-copy proofing will be almost wholly eliminated, remaining only for certain industries with a legal requirement, such as food, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. Monitor proofing will replace hard proofing the way e-mail has replaced most mail and fax of time-critical documents."

Like all other technologies, there will be early adopters, success stories, and even a few horror tales. Those who succeed, however, will be the ones who find ways to integrate new technologies like soft proofing into their print shops, offering it as another value-added service to their clients.

"The move to monitor proofing is not unlike the transition from film to CTP," according to Mr. Sweeney. "Many people in the color reproduction process are associated with the current analog proofing practices. Monitor proofing offers the opportunity to remove the last piece of paper from an otherwise digital workflow, and offering your customers an enterprise-wide, color managed, digital workflow is a competitive advantage."