# Proof copy

> Source: https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/proof-copy

Last updated: 2026-09-06
Category: Printing & binding
Also called: Proof · Printed proof · Digital proof

A proof copy is a test copy, digital or printed, checked for layout, colour, trim and errors before a book is approved for sale or a full print run.

## Definition

A **proof** is the version you check before you commit. It comes in two forms. A **digital proof** is the final PDF (or a screen render of it) reviewed page by page for typos, bad breaks, missing images and wrong running heads. A **printed proof** — a single physical copy produced on the same press and paper as the real thing — is checked for what a screen cannot show: how the colours actually print, whether the spine text is centred, whether the margins survive the binding, how the paper feels and whether the cover lamination matches.

Traditional printers charge for a printed proof and hold the run until it is signed off. Print-on-demand makes the proof simply the first copy: order one, read it with a pencil, fix the file, order again.

Proofreading a printed book is a different reading from proofing a manuscript; errors invisible on screen appear on paper. Every experienced author orders the proof.

## In Bindery

In Bindery the digital proof — typeset, watermarked — is always free; a printed proof is one copy ordered through Lulu at the quoted price, from a single copy.

## Related

- [Watermarked proof](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/watermarked-proof)
- [Print on demand](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/print-on-demand)
- [ARC (advance reader copy)](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/arc)
- [Preflight](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary/preflight)
- [Turn a PDF Into a Printed Book](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/tools/pdf-to-printed-book)
- [Photo Book Maker](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/formats/photo-book-maker)
- [Book Publishing Glossary — 59 Terms Defined](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/glossary)
- [Bindery — the Claude-powered book studio](https://www.infinitelibrary.ai/bindery)

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