Print is unforgiving in a specific way: the error is discovered after the run, at full quantity, and it cannot be patched. A proof read by someone unfamiliar with the file is the cheapest insurance available.
What to put in the public brief
- That a printed item will be posted to them
- The countries you can post to
- That photographs and written notes are required
- Roughly how long after receipt
- Whether they keep or return it
Keep the brand and content private.
What to put in the private instructions
Ask them to read it in daylight and again under a lamp
Ink and stock behave differently, and a colour that is fine by a window can be muddy at night.
Ask what is hard to read at arm's length
Not close up. Small type, low contrast and reversed-out text are all judged at the distance people actually hold things.
Ask them to test anything scannable
Codes, links, phone numbers. A QR code that works at screen size and fails at printed size is a common and expensive discovery.
Ask about folds and edges
Whether text falls into a fold, whether anything important sits close enough to the trim to be at risk.
Proof worth requiring
Ask for
Photographs in both lighting conditions, notes on legibility at arm's length, a scan test result, and anything that fell in a fold or near the trim.
Do not ask for
A colour judgement expressed as a match to a reference. Phone cameras and screens make that meaningless, and if it matters you need a physical proofing process.
When this task type is the wrong tool
If the copy is not final, this is premature — proofreading belongs before the proof rather than on it.
If colour fidelity is the whole question, a printer's proofing service answers it properly and a marketplace task cannot.