How to avoid errors before you hit export

Making mistakes is inevitable, we’re only human after all and even AI is guilty of it, nothing and no one is perfect all the time.

Take a look at any major Hollywood film or big budget TV show and there’s often a glaring error that, to outside observers, seems obvious; from the disappearing barrels in The Lord of the Rings, to gas canisters in Gladiator and mysterious coffee cups in Game of Thrones. 

These mistakes often give me comfort when I’ve made a mistake myself, it can happen to anyone. However, just because it happens from time to time it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be doing everything in our power to lower the chances of mistakes happening.

Here are some techniques I use to keep the chances of mistakes happening low and client satisfaction high.

Spell check in InDesign

An obvious feature for copywriters using Word and Google Docs but a less obvious feature in design programs. InDesign comes loaded with options from your standard spell check to autocorrect and dynamic spelling so you get to see those lovely red wiggly lines while you’re designing as well. These can all be switched on and off through accessing ‘Edit > Spelling’.

Copy text from documents, never re-type

Even if you’re an ace speller, things can often be mistyped especially in a hurry, it’s always best to copy text from documents than re-typing even when the copy is short - There’s nothing worse than a typo in a billboard title for the world to see!

Pre-flight checks in InDesign

There’s nothing worse than sending final artwork to a printer and realising some mistakes have slipped through the net. Before exporting final artwork, always make sure you look at the pre-flight checks in the bottom left of InDesign’s interface or through ‘Window > Output > Preflight’. This will cover common mistakes like; broken links, missing fonts and overset text.

Have someone outside the project proof your work

It’s very easy to get lost in your own work when you’ve been sitting at your desk staring at the same content for an overly long period. Mistakes can often be missed as your eyes get used to looking at the same thing. It’s often a good idea to get someone outside of a project to proof-read as they likely have fresh eyes to spot things you may have missed.

Take breaks and come back to visual work

If you’re a freelancer and don’t have the luxury of other team members, always try and allow a bit of extra time before you send that final version of the project across. Maybe sleep on it and look at it with fresh eyes in the morning, there may be bits you missed the first time around.

Ink coverage checker in InDesign

The world of print can often be leaden with extra checks as it is such a permanent medium, once something is printed the only way to solve an error is to reprint and it can be expensive depending on materials, this is why it is so important to get things right the first time. One of the most common print errors however is sometimes only discovered after something has been printed - high ink coverage. This can lead to smudging, bruising, warped paper, creasing and long drying times which can cause even more issues in production. 

Luckily, InDesign has a function to check the levels of ink in artwork and can highlight problem areas which you can then fix before exporting. This is accessed through ‘Window > Output > Separations Preview’. In the pop-up select ‘Ink Limits’ then set the percentage to what your printer recommends (usually this is below 300%) any high areas will be highlighted in red for you to rectify.

Use Adobe’s review and comment functionality

Changes are always a designer’s worst nightmare, especially copy changes in a text heavy brochure or document. A lot of people like to put comments in a pdf which can be annoying to hop between the annotated document and the working file. With Adobe’s review feature you can send a link to your working file where comments can be added in real time and removed as you’ve completed them so you can easily keep track of amends you have made.

Stay tuned for more tips and tricks to help you with your design work in future.