Proof Before Print

Nothing prints until you have seen it.

Place your order, and a designer lays out your artwork and emails you a proof within 2-4 business hours. It does not go to press until you reply "approved".

See prices and order →

A designer proofs your artwork within 2–4 hours and nothing prints until you approve it.

What a proof is, and why most printers skip it

A proof is a picture of exactly what is going to be printed, at the right size and in the right colours, sent to you before the press runs. You look at it, you say yes or you ask for a change. It sounds obvious. It is also the step most online print shops have removed, because a human looking at your file is the one cost that does not get cheaper as they get bigger.

What they do instead is take your upload and print it. If your logo was 200 pixels wide it prints blurry. If your text runs into the bleed it comes back with the phone number cut off. If you uploaded RGB it shifts colour. None of that is your fault and all of it is your problem, because custom print is non-returnable — ours included.

So we look at every file before it goes anywhere. If the resolution will not hold at 24 inches we tell you and ask for a better one. If the number is too close to the edge we move it and show you. If you have no artwork at all, we draw it from what you describe. One concept and two rounds of revisions are included on every order; the policy is written out in full rather than buried.

It applies to everything

Every product, every quantity, including the smallest

Yard Signs

10 for $95

A ten-sign order for $95 gets the same designer and the same 2-4 hour turnaround as a 250-sign order.

Vinyl Banners

From $40

Banners are where proofs earn their keep — grommet placement and safe margins are easy to get wrong.

Event Tents

From $699

A $699 tent is the one you really do not want to guess on. Dye-sub canopy panels cannot be reprinted cheaply.

How the proof actually works

When do I see the proof?

After you order. You place the order, we lay out your artwork, and the proof is in your inbox within 2-4 business hours — and we mean business hours, so a 9pm order gets its proof the next morning, not at 1am. Mon-Fri 9-5:30 ET. Nothing is printed in the meantime.

What if the proof is wrong?

You reply and tell us. One concept and two rounds of revisions are included, which covers almost every order. Nothing goes to press until you reply "approved", so there is no version of this where a proof you dislike turns into a box of signs.

What if I do not have any artwork at all?

Then describe the sign in the notes. "Smith Roofing, 24-hour storm damage, 856-555-0100, red and white" is enough for a designer to lay out something readable. You can also try the AI designer first and pick a concept — a person still checks it before it prints. There is no extra charge either way.

What happens if I approve a proof with a typo in it?

It prints with the typo, and that one is on you — which is exactly why the proof exists and why we will not press print without it. Read the phone number out loud digit by digit before you approve. It is the single most common mistake and the one nobody catches by skimming.

Can I get a refund if I change my mind after ordering?

Before design work starts, yes. After it starts there is a $25 design and prepress fee, and after you approve the proof the job is in production and cannot be cancelled. It is all on the refund page. We are a small shop and that step is real work by a real person.

Will you tell me if my file is bad?

Yes, plainly. "This logo is 180 pixels wide and will look soft at 24 inches — do you have the original?" is a normal message from us. We would rather have that conversation before printing than a refund conversation after.

Keep reading

Refunds, reprints and returns →The AI sign designer →How it works, start to finish →Small quantity yard signs →

Ready when you are, and nothing prints until you say so.

Describe the sign and our AI designer will draw three concepts in about 20 seconds — or send a logo and a person lays it out for you, free. Nothing prints until you approve a proof.

See prices and order → Try the AI designer