Documentation

Check that the file is the proper trim size. (This can also be checked in the InDesign file.)

Check that the title (and other content) matches the content on the cover, if available.

Does the PDF meet the required page count?

Front matter pages should use roman numerals, and image galleries may require separate numbering.

This includes the publication date, ISBN(s), copyright data, and impression lines.

For final pages, if CIP data is not available, the following (or the appropriate country-specific equivalent) may appear in place of the CIP data: “Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress.”

Front matter pages should use roman numerals, and image galleries may require separate numbering.

Check that entries in the TOC match the titles and heads in the book for wording, spelling, italicized terms, and location.

Check for spelling, character styles, and alignment.

Check that elements such as chapter titles and parent page objects are placed consistently.

Check for widows and orphans.

Check for paragraph section breaks occurring at the top of a page. If so, a tsectop or tsecbot should be used to mark the section break.

Check for hyphenation across pages due to style settings or the presence of footnotes.

Check for bad URL breaks.

Check for bad breaks due to bracketed letters (for example, “[T]his”).

Check for social titles like “Ms.” or “Dr.” and the person’s name.

Check for initials and the rest of a person’s name.

Check for numerals along with a spelled-out number or a unit of measurement or currency (e.g., “1 billion,” “10 cm,” “100 dollars,” or “$1 million”).

Check for abbreviations like “pp.” or “no.” and the numeral that follows.

Check for names of biblical books that are preceded by a numeral (for example, “2 Corinthians” or “1 Peter”).

Check that lines do not end with list leaders.

Check for punctuation, letter, and word stacks.

Check for any loose or tight leading or kerning.

Check that long lines balance or align properly when wrapping.

Check for text crashes.

Check that numbers in lists or notes align properly for the largest amount of digits in use.

Check that illustrative elements are placed in the correct location.

Check that images appear in their entirety.

Check that heads and captions are consistently placed.

Have endnotes that will fall outside of the main text flow been converted to footnotes or table notes?

Typically, pages do not need to align if the page that follows begins with a head or title.

Run a preflight in Adobe Acrobat to analyze the document.

Check for color vs. grayscale.

Check for proper page size and print marks.

Check for image size and settings.

Check for the proper scribing of elements.

Acceptable ScML styles include “-alt” style name variations.

All styles, including “structure” and any other style identified as conditional text, should be defined. The icon to the right of the style name should not be present, and unused styles should be removed by the time files are considered final.

All styles on parent pages (e.g., running heads and folios) should be defined through the style sheet.

Italic characters within paragraphs defined with an italic base font should be reversed to roman.

Italic small caps should be constructed by skewing the small caps font (typically by 10°), rather than applying a small caps setting to an italic font.

Check for font mismatches between paragraph styles’ base fonts and the character styles appearing within them.

Right-to-left languages, such as Hebrew, require both the language and "World-ready paragraph composer" selected.

Check that the designated stop character or GREP pattern is present.

Check for any nested style conflicts, resulting in two character styles applied simultaneously to a character or word.

Check that center-aligned text does not also include a first-line indent.

Check that tabs used to center text are set to the mathematical center of the text box.

All text boxes should be linked except tables, sidebars, and figure captions.

The pasteboard should be clear by the time a file is considered final.

The following GREP search in InDesign will find soft returns that are not preceded by a space. The replacement expression will add a space. Do not replace all if this will affect URLs or other soft returns that should not have a space in front of them.

Find: ([^ ])\n

Replace with: $1 \n

There should be no empty paragraphs, and spacing should not be added through the use of soft or hard returns.

Note: Errors may be discovered through Hub stats, conversion alerts, and reviews in Kindle Previewer and Ace by Daisy.