Proofreading is not a general term for checking a typescript
before publication: it means checking proofs, i.e. pages formatted and
printed from an already prepared typescript; it usually involves correcting
small matters such as spelling errors that have not been spotted earlier.
The process of preparing copy submitted by an author is called copy-editing.
This is (or should be) a far more involved process than proofreading. On the one
hand it involves formatting a document, for example ensuring that styles are
applied consistently in the word-processing program and can be processed
correctly by the printer, and on the other of correcting authorial errors,
omissions, and inconsistencies in areas such as spelling, facts, phrasing, and
document structure.
Typographic design determines how the words will appear on the page –
their size, their font, their colour, their layout.
Page layout overlaps with this, the emphasis being more on the
overall dimensions and appearance of the elements appearing on a page
(typographic design being, by implication, a more creative process aimed at
bringing out a message through the appearance of the words and letters
themselves).
Typesetting is the application of the design and editorial decisions to the copy, which produces the final version in its finished form ready for printing.
Back
to main page.