Lightning Labels Blog

PDF vs Press Proof - Which Should You Choose?

When you place a custom label order with Lightning Labels you have a choice. You can request a PDF proof of your artwork or a press proof (also called a hard copy proof). Here is a quick guide to help you decide which proofing method you should choose.

PDF Proofs

The biggest advantage of PDF proofs is speed. Our prepress department usually turns a proof around within 24 hours, sometimes it happens the same day. With a PDF proof you can receive and approve your proof immediately after prepress has emailed it to you. It is always going to be the quickest proofing method.

If your artwork is fairly simple, with just text and some basic graphics then a PDF proof may be right for you. You can view your proof on your screen or print it out on your inkjet or laser printer. Keep in mind, the colors will be subtly different from your finished labels. If color is critical then you should request a press proof.

Press Proofs

With press proofs you get to see exactly what how your labels will look. Your proof is printed on the same press that will print your finished labels so the color will be exactly the same. You can even cut out your label from the proof sheet and stick it on your jar or container to see how it looks there. This way there will no surprises.

If you are ordering chrome or clear material we strongly recommend you order a press proof. Color can look very different when printed on these kinds of materials, so it is always best to see the final result.

Best of all, at Lightning Labels press proofs are free, you just pay for shipping. If you can wait just an extra day (assuming you request overnight shipping) you can have the piece of mind in knowing exactly how your labels will look.

The Last Word

Whichever proofing method you choose, always proofread your label artwork carefully. It is good to have someone else proofread it as well. It is a lot less expensive to fix a problem before we go to press than after you receive your labels. When you think your art is fine, just proof it one more time. We have learned from experience that the more time you spend studying your proof the less likely a mistake will make it through to press.

Gather All the Printing News at Alltop

Sometimes when you are trying to research a topic a google search can get frustrating. You often have to sift through pages of search results before gathering all the information you need. Wouldn't it be better to go to one location and find all the important news that is completely up to date? This is the idea behind Alltop, a new venture by Guy Kawasaki, the serial entrepreneur, venture capatalist and author.

Alltop gathers all the latest news from around the world and organizes it by topic, kind of like an online magazine rack. It pulls in news from traditional sources such as newspaper and magazine web sites, but also includes new media such as popular blogs and online forums. If you need to do research on ballroom dancing, woodworking or New Zealand then Alltop has you covered. Best of all it is updated every hour with all the latest news on every topic so you know you are getting only current information.

Recently a printing category was added to Alltop. It includes news from the commercial printing industry as well as label printing. So now all the news from our industry is gathered conveniently in one place at printing.alltop.com. And yes, you will find the Lightning Labels blog in there as well.

The History of Print

I came across this interesting article a couple of weeks ago on the history of print. It describes a rich history that starts way back around 1800 BC and continues all the way to the 21st century. The photo above is from one of the first rotary printing presses invented in the 1840's. For anyone involved in the printing industry it provides an interesting historical perspective.

The article does not mention the HP-Indigo press, which in my humble opinion was a very important part of the history of printing. But it does provide an interesting analysis of most of the major printing advances over the last several hundred years.

Introducing PrintWiki - What on Earth is it?

Adam Dewitz is a busy guy. He is a second year graduate student at the Rochester Institute of Technology studying Print Media, he is the author of the Printmode blog (a blog devoted to the printing industry), and now he has created PrintWiki - The Free Encyclopedia of Print. A wiki is basically just a type of web site that allows anyone to update the content - the most famous wiki is the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.

The PrintWiki website provides a collaborative platform that enables anyone to contribute to the collective knowledge of the printing and publishing community. The goal of the site is to provide a comprehensive, open source encyclopedia of printing and publishing. It is not completely unregulated, there is a group of people led by Adam who will review entries to maintain the integrity of the information. But it is up to people within the industry to get involved.

I have joined the PrintWiki community and I did my first entry on label unwind direction. Now, I will be contributing further entries as time goes on - my focus will be on the label industry. So if you are an expert in the print industry I encourage you to get involved. The more entries that are created the more useful it will be for everyone.