Had a great moment yesterday at the printers as the last of the first series of small books I've been working on were being run through the press.

In the viewing station beside the press we held three sheets of paper:

- a 'proof' I had printed at home on the 4800 that closely matched my monitor
- the proof generated at the printers on a HP, alongside the (direct to) plates
- the end product, a sheet out of the Heidelberg SpeedMaster

The three sheets were so incredibly close... it was insane - as good as it gets. The value of a color managed workflow from start to finish can't be understated.

Of course, that's not to downplay the level of skill involved in great four color printing - it's an art in itself. To Steve and all the guys at Bart'n'Print in Bendigo - THANKS!