Lightroom 4 has made the process of managing and processing digital images easier than ever before. Creating slide shows, web galleries, and outputting hi-res files for clients has reached a new level of efficiency. But one area that still proves to be a challenge at times is printing. Even with calibrated monitors and the wonders of today’s ink jet printers with their multiple archival inks, getting repeatable results from monitor to paper can still be difficult.

Soft proofing, now built into Lightroom 4, is a method of previewing how an image will look when printed on any given paper or output device. By showing you just where the problem colors might be (referred to as “out of gamut”), adjustments can be made to a virtual copy prior to printing that are then custom tailored for that particular art paper or printer. The end result is a more consistent workflow that saves both time and money.

In this video with Julieanne Kost, Adobe’s Digital Imaging Evangelist demonstrates just how easy it is to soft proof in Lightroom 4 to achieve perfect prints.