Quote:
Originally Posted by Bocabirdman
I just talked to a printer. He describes things as:
Scrap....Make-Readies for a run. (Leon's Masterpiece would indeed be Scrap)
Misprints....Lapses in Quality Control
Proof.... Test Print or Prints to achieve a perfect example. Failed Proofs would be Scrap in the days before computers  .
 |
That's a good definition, one that can be understood easily and covers most situations.
Looking at it more technically, there are a lot of stages of proofs depending on the way the printer and customer work. The shop I was at did nearly no proofing. Probably a photographic mockup for customer approval, but not much more. Topps uses an amazingly wide array of proofs for different stages of the design and approval process.
In a way, make ready sheets are proofs. Just the final stage where the equipment gets adjusted as production begins. Some are nearly "good enough" to be released, some aren't even close.
And "scrap" can actually be finished product that ends up being discarded. We tossed something like 12,000 college course catalogs that were overordered by the college. No room at their office. We found lots of places to put the first 12k copies, stacked to the ceiling, on top of file cabinets, under desks, basically anywhere a box would fit. After a few months they said to trash the rest. No real problem since they'd already paid for them.
With T206 there are a few that would obviously be "scraps" but don't have any of the usual scrap faults. Like this Ewing. Obviously hand cut, but entirely finished except for cutting. My guess is that either it was leftover when the change to shipping 350's began, or that the sheet was partly damaged and someone brought it home.
Steve B
