Proofing color separations
Create a hard proof to verify that colors will print on the correct separations, or a soft proof to preview how your document’s colors will look when reproduced on a particular output device.
Note: While no proof will give you an exact representation
of your final output, you can greatly improve its accuracy by calibrating
all the devices you use to create a document (such as scanners,
monitors, and printers). If the devices are calibrated, the color
management system can help you get predictable and consistent color.
The hard proof represents your expectation of the way the final separations will appear, and helps the service provider to verify that the output is correct. Be sure to print proofs on a PostScript printer; you cannot reliably proof color separations printed from a non-PostScript printer.
For assurance that the file will print correctly,
consider saving the separations as a PostScript file, converting
the PostScript file to Acrobat 8 PDF using
Acrobat Distiller, and then viewing the PDF document in Acrobat.
By viewing the PDF document in Acrobat, you can inspect high-quality
PostScript output on‑screen at a high level of detail.