Design proofs:
• generated by the designer of artist during page makeup (often at several stages)
• usually not for color approval
• serve as hard copy to accompany digital files
• may be output on b/w laser printers and on low-end color proofers

"Scatter" proofs:
• photo images are scaled to reproduction size and ganged on one large sheet
• for approving color without waiting for the fully composed page (if acceptable to the customer)

Page proofs:
• fully composed individual pages or "reader's spreads" (as opposed to "printer's spreads") in which all page elements appear as they will print

Imposition proofs:
• monochrome (usually blue), two-sided proofs of entire press sheets that can be folded, collated with other sheets, bound, cut, and trimmed to form replicas of finished pieces
• mainly for confirming page sequence and for last-
chance detection of typographical errors

Contract proofs:
• what the customer approves, usually with his or her signature, as showing the level of quality that the printer will now be contractually obligated to reproduce on press
• may be subject to color correction before sign-off
• must be checked with a densitometer and examined by the customer under the proper viewing conditions. "The printer must stress that the contract proof is not an exact representation but an attempt to predict as closely as possible...what the final printed sheet will look like."