A Soft Proof is an online visual representation of the book files whereas the Proof is an actual physical copy of the printed book.
Snowfall Press offers the ability to request a Soft Proof of a book for review. A Soft Proof is a PDF file that has been processed for printing. If you order a Soft Proof, you will be e-mailed a link where you can download the Soft Proof by right-clicking the mouse and selecting "Save Link As". The Soft Proof costs the same as a single hard copy of your book minus shipping. It requires you to fill in the shipping information, but the link to the Soft Proof is sent to your login e-mail (default) or another e-mail address of your choosing.
We recommend printing a hard proof to inspect your book in person. The Soft Proof provides a quick alternative when there is no time to preview a physical proof before placing an order. With a Soft Proof, you will be able to see if there are font problems, bleed problems, and other things that will hinder a successful printing. Soft Proof interiors only come in B&W, so they are of no use for color checks on color interior books. Soft Proof covers do come in color, but again due to limitations the colors on the cover in a Soft Proof may be different than what actually prints.
If you receive a message that the Soft Proof was not successful, it is likely that we cannot process your files. In many cases, we will retry the file for you, but if it does not process a second time, it is very likely there is a file problem that you need to fix. In that case, refer to the PDF File Preparation topic for information on how to better prepare your PDFs.
Soft Proofs are better than no proof at all, they should be used only when there is no time for a physical proof.