Caralan Help - MY PROOF FAILED

Postscript files do fail occasionaly: - If you think our system may be at fault click the 'System Check' option from the menu bar, otherwise for the rest of this help page we will assume that the fault is with your file.

Read the proof log file: - This often contains useful pointers as to why a job fails along with a lot of postscript nerd speak. Look for 'Warnings' and 'Errors'.
The top section of the logfile contains processing and general information about your proof. The four lines at the bottom are probably the most interesting :-
PROCESSING_ERRORS : Indicates problems encountered with your file that prevent it producing any output at all.
FONT_ERRORS : Usually lists any missing fonts. SPOT_COLOUR_FOUND : This system is designed for proofing jobs that are intended to be printed CMYK. If you have designed your job using pantone colours then there will probably be colour shifts when the job is converted to CMYK for printing.
RGB_FOUND : Colour shifts will very likely result when converting to CMYK.
In all cases a blank entry means no problems were found.
LOG EVENTS *** As your file travels through our system any significant output information from the various processing stages is written here as it occurs. Much of the log will not interest you but if you have a problem you may want to scan it for error messages and warnings.

NO PROOF IS PRODUCED:-
Non Postscript files: - Are you accidentally trying to proof the wrong file? Only postscript filetypes can be used - EPS, PDF and PS. Export your job again to a newly created empty folder so you cannot possibly make this mistake.
Locating the Cause: - First create a new blank page in your program, draw a box and fill it with colour. Make sure there is nothing else on the page but this one box - no text, nothing. Proof this file and if it works you know that your system will work but there must be something in your job that causes it to fail. Locate the guilty item by deleting things and resending your job. Try deleting all text from your job and if it works without text you have a font problem. If this doesn't help then the cause is probably an object on your page. If your job is very complex and contains many objects then you can zero in on the fault by deleting half of your job and reproofing. If it works then the fault is in the other half. Chop the guilty half in half and reproof. Repeat this until you zero in on the problem.

WARNING :   If you see this red warning message it means that our system detected potential problems with your file and you should examine the proof log file. This doesn't always mean that your file will not produce correct output. It could be that our system has detected garbage objects in your file. For example non-printing RGB objects or missing fonts that are specified but never used. Postscript is a complex language and a postscript file can contain many things that don't actually have any effect on the final output. However when you see this warning it means either your file is faulty or it is not "clean". In either case we recommend that you carefully re-check your artwork before proceeding.

IT DOES'NT LOOK RIGHT:-
Overprint Problems: - If your software allows you to set objects to overprint other objects then this can cause things to unexpectedly change colour or disappear in the proof. Offset inks are transparent so when a yellow object set to overprint is printed over a blue object then the yellow object will become green. Most programs do not show you this on screen since they are not just catering for print. If you set a white object to overprint it will disappear from the proof completely but still be visible in your program and in a PDF or EPS file. This is how it should be. The proof is showing you what you will get when the job is actually printed on a press - not what some program thinks it will look like.