Softproofen

Softproofen is the process of previewing on a calibrated display how colors in a digital design will appear when printed with a specific printer, ink, and paper combination. It uses color management and printer/paper ICC profiles to simulate the final output, allowing designers to anticipate color shifts without making physical proofs.

The purpose of softproofing is to predict and manage differences between on-screen colors and printed colours, helping to optimize color decisions, minimize waste, and speed up prepress workflows. It complements but does not completely replace hard proofs, because a monitor cannot perfectly reproduce all print characteristics under real-world lighting.

How softproofing works: a display profile (monitor ICC profile) and a printer/media profile are used within color-managed software. The user enables soft proofing, selects the target printer/profile, and chooses a rendering intent (perceptual, relative colorimetric, saturation, or absolute colorimetric). The software then simulates how colours will look in print, including gamut limitations and paper whiteness, and may allow adjustments to colors to better match the intended output.

Workflow considerations include calibrating and profiling both monitor and printer, controlling ambient lighting, and using consistent rendering intents. Softproofs are particularly common in graphic design, publishing, and photography workflows to evaluate skin tones, reds, and other critical colours before sending files to production.

Limitations include imperfect replication of substrate nuances, inks, and lighting conditions; soft proofing should be complemented with physical proofs for final verification when high accuracy is required.