Printing a hard proof

A hard proof (sometimes called a proof print or match print) is a printed simulation of what your final output on a printing press will look like. A hard proof is produced on an output device that's less expensive than a printing press. In recent years some inkjet printers have the resolution necessary to produce inexpensive prints that can be used as hard proofs.

To print a hard proof:

1. Open the document in Photoshop.
2. Choose View > Proof Setup > Custom and choose the profile of your output device in the Profile menu. Choose a Rendering Intent from the Intent menu. Click Save to save the settings if you're going to be doing more proofs on the specific output device.
3. Click OK to close the Proof Setup dialog box.
4. Choose File > Print with Preview.
5. In the Print with Preview dialog box, make sure Show More Options is selected and Color Management is chosen.
6. In the Source Space area, select Proof. The Proof Setup should be the profile you specified.
7. In the Print Space area, do one of the following:
• Choose Printer Color Management from the Profile menu if you're printing with the printer driver's choices of factory profiles. This is useful when you don't have custom profiles for the printer, and you want the printer driver to pick the best profile according to the paper type, resolution, and so forth. After clicking the Print button, the Print dialog box (for setting printer options) opens. On Windows, click the Properties button to access the printer driver options and set the color management options. On Mac OS, use the pop-up menu to access the printer driver options and set the color management options.
• If you're printing with a custom profile, choose the custom profile from the Profile menu. Then click the Print button. The Print dialog box (for setting printer options) opens. On Windows, click the Properties button and set the printer driver options so color management is turned off (the options could be similar to No Color Management, Color Adjustments Off, or Color Management Off). On Mac OS, use the pop-up menu to access the printer driver options for color management and turn color management off.