Generally speaking, proofreaders don’t have much to do with print specs at the start of a project. I’d like to think that all that stuff is sorted out between the production manager and creative team when initial pricing is discussed for the project.

But upon release, the proofreader usually has the longest checklist which includes double-checking specs. I never worried about the specs of the layout itself; my concern was the attached specs document that accompanied the layouts. The two had to match. Yet without fail, some measurement was slightly off in the specs document as compared with the actual layout, often measured in feet instead of inches.

I would hope the printer would call if there were any discrepancies, but better to be explicit before release than to depend on a phone call.