Margie Dana

If you work in the graphic arts and you're close to Boston, mark January 10th on your calendar. BPB is hosting a "New Year Networking" party from 6 to 8:30 pm for 100 people. You won't want to miss this one. Details to follow.

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All Rights Reversed

Every time I add a copyright line to an article or a Tip, my fingers itch to type "All rights reversed."

Microsoft Word's spellchecker wouldn't flag it - after all, reversed is a perfectly legitimate word.

No matter how well we type or how many spelling bees we've won, to err is human.

Today, we are ALL authors and designers, are we not? With a PC or Mac at our literal fingertips, we create content or designs for books, articles, brochures, posters, business cards, web sites, and so on.

But when our masterpieces are ready to send to a printer or upload to a web site, how many of us seriously proofread our own work or, better yet, have another person do so? (If you were a live audience and asked to respond to this query with a show of hands, I'd see a couple of hands at best, trust me.)

Whether we send our files to printers by email, or FTP (File Transfer Protocol), or CD, they're going as digital files that we created.

So may I have your attention, all you content creators?

Printers are not your proofreaders. Those days are long gone. Once upon a time, commercial printers created your documents (can you say "typesetting"?). That meant it was their responsibility to proofread what they created. If there were typos, and these were found on the proof, the printer corrected them at no cost to you. (I remember writing "PE," for "printer's error," next to mistakes I found on annual reports I produced. Mistakes I made were labeled "AA" for "author's alteration." The printer had a right to charge me for AAs.)

Many commercial printers employed proofreaders back then. Today, I know of no printer who has a full-time proofreader on staff. You and I are in charge of proofreading, like it or nit...um, make that not.

Tag, You're It

Carefully read over every bit of copy, paying close attention to proper nouns and numbers. I can't tell you how often I type "Untied States," even today. Again, spell checking won't bail me out here.

Check every date, phone number, and price as if your life depended on it.

If you create a LOT of content for publication, be it printed or on the Web, hire a professional proofreader. Talk about being worth every penny. Proofreaders will see mistakes you (and I) cannot. Just make sure you tell them to flag or track changes they make, especially to numbers and names, for only you will know if their changes are legit.

What happens if you don't see your typos until the printer sends you a proof? You can fix them at this stage, sure. But it will cost you. You'll make corrections to your original file, send it back to the printer (or have the printer make the changes), where another proof is generated, and so on. This is additional work for the printer, who has every right to charge you. You made the mistake; you pay for it.

And why is it that we authors can't see our mistakes until a job's at the proofing stage? I have no answer, because I am as guilty as you are. Maybe some sort of creative fear factor kicks in. "Uh-oh. The end is near!! Change that word! Rewrite that sentence! As long as we're here, let's change the color and the typeface."

Change away, but be prepared to pay.

If you send a printer a file, you are responsible for proofreading perfection. Make no mistake about it (even if you have to hire a proofreader).

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