Planning

A short list to run through before a file is treated as final. Not every item applies to every job.

• Write down the trim size, the bleed, and the way the file should be delivered, as confirmed by the printer or the developer you will actually use.
• Check every image at the size it will appear, A check at the size it appears in a window on your desk is not enough.
• Read the text at the final size, on a paper proof or at the intended screen width. A typographic problem often shows up only then.
• Confirm that typefaces are licensed for the use, and that they are embedded or outlined as the recipient requires.
• If a sign or a printed piece is bilingual, look at both scripts together, at the correct distance.
• List anything that is still a guess (a paper stock not yet sampled, a photograph not yet chosen) so it is not forgotten in a rush to finish.

The aim is not a perfect record. It is to notice which decisions are still waiting on a fact.