{"id":4029,"date":"2023-01-09T06:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-09T06:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/?p=4029"},"modified":"2026-01-08T16:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T08:21:15","slug":"the-difference-between-a-proof-and-a-sample","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qinprinting.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-a-proof-and-a-sample\/","title":{"rendered":"What's the Difference between a PDF Proof, a Hard Proof, a Dummy, and a Sample in Offset Printing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Before you give your printer the go-ahead to produce hundreds or even thousands of copies of your print project, it's important to check that everything is going to turn out as you expect. We examine the differences between PDF proofs, hard proofs, dummies, and samples and look at which checking method is best for which print projects.<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"proofs\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Image source: QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Seeing is believing<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Whether you’re ordering your print products online or working with your local high street print store, you may feel uncertain about the quality and appropriateness of the final print product until you get to hold it in your hands and see it with your own eyes. This is completely understandable. Even if you’ve done the design work yourself\u200a\u2014\u200arather than outsourcing it to a third-party professional or agency\u200a\u2014\u200athe pre-press work, and the plate setting, will go on “behind the scenes”.\u00a0<\/p>

But don’t worry, good printers will always provide you with some sort of mock-up of your book, flyer, leaflet, brochure, booklet, catalog, calendar, or whatever it is. This allows you to check for yourself that you’re happy with the paper quality, the binding, the printing, and the color reproduction before you commit to mass production.<\/p>

Exactly what kind of mock copy you’ll get depends on the specifics of your print project. There is often confusion about the differences between PDF and hard proofs, dummies, and physical samples in offset printing. So, let’s look at each one in turn and clear up the confusion straightaway.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What is a PDF proof?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A PDF proof is the most common that you’ll come across and it’s the most widely applicable and sufficient for most print projects. Usually, it’s a PDF file which shows you the fundamental layout, font, artwork, and so on. Obviously, it’s entirely digital, and so you won’t have the pleasure of feeling the weight, texture, and exact color reproduction of your finished article. But in most cases, it’s a pretty good representation and enough for you to see that the final product will meet your needs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"digital-proof\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Image source: QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is a hard proof?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A hard proof is a physical copy of your print project, but produced using digital printing technology, unlike your finished product, which will be printed using high-grade offset printing machines. Unlike the PDF proof, this is a copy you can hold in your hand and look at “in real life”. The important thing about a hard proof is that\u200a\u2014\u200aas we do here at QinPrinting\u200a\u2014\u200ayour printer should use GMG color-proofing for this copy.\u00a0<\/p>

Without getting bogged down in the technical details, this means that we guarantee the hard proof to deliver at least 95% accuracy in color reproduction. For most people, this means they won’t be able to tell the difference between the colors in the proof and those in the finished product. So, this is a great option if you have a product in which accurate color reproduction is very important, such as an art book, coffee-table book, or a business report for which color branding is essential. But you still won’t get to touch and see the exact<\/em> paper type or the binding with a hard copy. Which brings us on to dummies and samples.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hard-Proof\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Image source: QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is a dummy?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A dummy is a copy of your print product, which is made from the same paper from which we will make your final product and is bound in the same way. It’s like a sample, which we’ll look at in a moment, but differs because it focuses on the paper type and the binding, rather than the print quality, which may differ quite a lot from your finished product.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Dummy\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Image source: QinPrinting<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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What is a sample?<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A sample can mean three different things:<\/p>