You probably don’t want to hear this, but “it depends.”  Jobs ordered through one of our web-to-print sites are shipped out no later than the next business day unless otherwise indicated.  Most “regular” jobs are shipped out one or two business days after the proof has been approved (see, “What is a ‘proof’?”).  Regardless, we’ll work with you to make sure that you get it when you need it.

There are two kinds of proofs—hard copy and PDF.

A hard copy proof from us is simply a one-off version of your actual job.  Unlike offset printers, a proof from Copy General will be printed on the same press, on the same stock and bound on the same equipment as the final job.  Remember, for us, whether we’re printing one or a million, they’re all produced the same way.

For repeat or simple jobs, we may suggest a PDF proof.  If it’s an item we’ve printed before and this job just has new content, a PDF proof is sufficient

When you get a proof from us, especially a hard-copy proof, you’ll see exactly how your job will print.

Colors look different on your display than when printed.  Images that display okay may be of too low a resolution to print well.

You’ll be able to see if your bleeds worked as expected.

Also, it’s amazing that errors and inconsistencies that weren’t noticed when things were reviewed in-house, just pop out and hit you in the face when you see it printed.

And, finally, we’re all human.  We may have misinterpreted your instructions or made a mistake.  

Your approval on the final proof is assurance that you have looked over every aspect of our work and approve it as accurate. It benefits everyone if errors are caught in the proofing process rather than after